Gov't must account for military spending in Franken bill

As American forces continue to take part in bombing in Libya, Democratic Sen. Al Franken plans to introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate next week to assure that military operations don't add to the national debt.

At an event at the State Capitol Friday morning, Franken said he was concerned about the costs of military operations in Libya.

"You know, so far the administration said we can pay for it in the regular military budget but at a certain point, that may not be the case," he said.

Congress did not pay up front the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — a major contributor to the nation's trillion dollar deficit.

Franken said his bill would give lawmakers a clear choice for how to fund future conflicts.

"Either that means making cuts or increasing revenues," Franken said. "Having a kind of surtax for a war."

Franken said he plans to speak to the Obama Administration about how it intends to pay for the conflict in Libya.

A Franken spokesman said later Franken isn't proposing an actual surtax, but was using the term as an example of the kind of option the legislation could force the government to consider along with spending cuts.