The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will have cost the United States at least $1.6 trillion by 2008, according to a report by Congress's Joint Economic Committee that is scheduled to be released Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

The report from the Democratic majority of the dual-party committee, called "The Hidden Costs of the Iraq War," puts a price tag on the so-called hidden costs of the war, such as interest payments on money borrowed to finance missions, lost investments, additional strains on the health-care system and higher oil prices. 

The Associated Press obtained a draft of the paper in advance of the scheduled release, which said the cost of the war efforts would reach $1.6 trillion for the period between 2002 and 2008, roughly $20,900 for each family of four. A Washington Post article on an earlier draft of the report put the costs at $1.5 trillion over the same period. 

The committee also said that costs could be expected to rise, reaching up to $3.5 trillion between 2003 and 2017.

The total is roughly double the $804 billion the White House has already requested to finance the missions, the report stated. "The full economic costs of the war to American taxpayers and the overall U.S. economy go well beyond even the immense federal budget costs already reported," it read.

Costly strain on health-care system

The costs estimated in the report, according to the Post, include a diversion of billions of dollars in investments and approximately $2 billion for U.S. employees as the war pulls reservists and National Guardsmen away from their jobs. The strain on the health-care system from war-related injuries is estimated to reach more than $30 billion in future disability and medical costs.

The estimated cost of the interest paid on mission-related debt is expected to exceed $550 billion by 2017, the report stated.

A portion of the $1.6-billion tab is also attributed to oil prices, which surged from about $37 a barrel to a peak of over $90. The report said that while the war in Iraq was not responsible for all increases in oil prices, the disruptions cost U.S. oil consumers about $124 billion between 2003 and 2008.

Senator calls spending 'tragically unacceptable'

"What this report makes crystal clear is that the cost to our country in lives lost and dollars spent is tragically unacceptable," said Joint Economic Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Schumer, in a statement prepared to accompany the report's release.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the report was an attempt to muddy the waters following some positive developments being reported out of Iraq.

"I haven't seen the report, but it's obvious the motivations behind it," she said. "This report was put out by Democrats on Capitol Hill. This committee is known for being partisan and political. They did not consult or cooperate with the Republicans on the committee."

The report comes as the U.S. government prepares to vote this week on another effort by Democrats to set a deadline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, as a condition for providing another $50 billion for the war.

Also on Tuesday, U.S. President George Bush signed a roughly $40-billion increase for the Pentagon's non-war budget. The $471-billion defence budget, announced on Air Force One during a trip to Indiana, gives the Pentagon a nine per cent increase. 

With files from the Associated Press