Saxton takes exception to war cost estimate

It is no secret that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost taxpayers dearly. A new report, "War at any price?" has put it in terms Americans can understand. For a family of four, it has cost $20,900 since 2002, Congressional Democrats say.
The report, issued Tuesday by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee, estimates that the conflicts have cost a staggering $1.6 trillion - $1,600,000,000,000. That number includes interest on the money borrowed to pay for the war, lost investment income and health care for injured veterans.
Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., a member of the Joint Economic Committee, and Sen. Sam Brownback, the commitee's senior Republican senator, quickly asked that the report be withdrawn, criticizing its methodology. Their statement.
As of noon today, a link to the report on the Joint Economic Committee Web site took you to the Saxton-Brownback statement. Saxton and Republicans have every right to take exception to the report. But there is no justification for preventing citizens from reading the report and judging its merits for themselves.