scoone
02-03-2004, 04:26 AM
Mon February 2, 2004 03:43 PM ET
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (*******) - President Bush on Monday proposed a $401.7 billion U.S. defense budget for 2005, and the White House said he was likely to seek up to $50 billion more for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The budget sent to Congress would increase U.S. military spending by 7 percent over the current year and steadily boost spending to $487.8 billion in five years despite growing federal budget deficits.
In addition to the deficit issue, the budget is certain to stir bitter debate in Congress over Bush's call to boost funding for missile defense by $1.2 billion to $10.2 billion next year.
It also would nearly double current funding to modernize the Army and increase spending on unmanned spy planes for use in Iraq and to help fight what Bush calls the global war on terrorism.
White House budget director Joshua Bolten acknowledged that the 2005 defense budget projections did not include spending for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"So we will need supplemental funding to continue that," Bolten told reporters, adding that $50 billion was "kind of the upper limit on what might be needed" in the two countries. The White House and Pentagon say they do not anticipate asking for additional funds until next January or later.
"Hopefully, the needs will be less. But it will all depend entirely on the security situation," Bolten said.
The five-year U.S. defense plan beginning next year includes anticipated increases to $422.7 billion in fiscal 2006, $443.9 billion in 2007, $475.7 billion in 2008 and $487.7 billion in 2009.
"I expect Congress will agree to the increase for next year. But is this pace really sustainable over the long term, given the ballooning federal deficit picture?" said analyst Steven Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington-based think tank.
'WE ARE UNDER FIRE'
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other administration officials have stressed that the fight against terrorism sparked by the 2001 attacks on the United States requires heavy spending to create a high-tech force that is more mobile and lethal than America's ponderous Cold War-era military.
"We are under fire. We are still in a war on terrorism," Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim told reporters.
Zakheim also said next year's budget included a pay raise of 3.5 percent for U.S. troops, costing about $7 billion.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, sought to boost funding for its controversial missile defense program by 13 percent to $10.2 billion next year from $9 billion requested for fiscal 2004. The new figure includes spending by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency of $9.1 billion in 2005, up from $7.6 billion, as well as on the Army's Patriot missile program.
Democrats in the U.S. Congress and some U.S. allies have sharply criticized the plan to quickly begin deploying a limited anti-missile shield, warning that it has not been adequately tested and could spark an arms race in space.
The 2005 budget calls for $3.2 billion for the Army's "Future Combat System," a high-tech plan to make soldiers more mobile and lethal in the post-Cold War world. That is up from $1.7 billion in the current year.
Spending on unmanned spy planes such as the Air Force "Global Hawk," which are playing increasingly key roles in the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would rise to $1.97 billion in fiscal 2005, up from $1.3 billion in 2004.
http://www.*******.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4265396&pageNumber=1
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (*******) - President Bush on Monday proposed a $401.7 billion U.S. defense budget for 2005, and the White House said he was likely to seek up to $50 billion more for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The budget sent to Congress would increase U.S. military spending by 7 percent over the current year and steadily boost spending to $487.8 billion in five years despite growing federal budget deficits.
In addition to the deficit issue, the budget is certain to stir bitter debate in Congress over Bush's call to boost funding for missile defense by $1.2 billion to $10.2 billion next year.
It also would nearly double current funding to modernize the Army and increase spending on unmanned spy planes for use in Iraq and to help fight what Bush calls the global war on terrorism.
White House budget director Joshua Bolten acknowledged that the 2005 defense budget projections did not include spending for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"So we will need supplemental funding to continue that," Bolten told reporters, adding that $50 billion was "kind of the upper limit on what might be needed" in the two countries. The White House and Pentagon say they do not anticipate asking for additional funds until next January or later.
"Hopefully, the needs will be less. But it will all depend entirely on the security situation," Bolten said.
The five-year U.S. defense plan beginning next year includes anticipated increases to $422.7 billion in fiscal 2006, $443.9 billion in 2007, $475.7 billion in 2008 and $487.7 billion in 2009.
"I expect Congress will agree to the increase for next year. But is this pace really sustainable over the long term, given the ballooning federal deficit picture?" said analyst Steven Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington-based think tank.
'WE ARE UNDER FIRE'
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other administration officials have stressed that the fight against terrorism sparked by the 2001 attacks on the United States requires heavy spending to create a high-tech force that is more mobile and lethal than America's ponderous Cold War-era military.
"We are under fire. We are still in a war on terrorism," Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim told reporters.
Zakheim also said next year's budget included a pay raise of 3.5 percent for U.S. troops, costing about $7 billion.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, sought to boost funding for its controversial missile defense program by 13 percent to $10.2 billion next year from $9 billion requested for fiscal 2004. The new figure includes spending by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency of $9.1 billion in 2005, up from $7.6 billion, as well as on the Army's Patriot missile program.
Democrats in the U.S. Congress and some U.S. allies have sharply criticized the plan to quickly begin deploying a limited anti-missile shield, warning that it has not been adequately tested and could spark an arms race in space.
The 2005 budget calls for $3.2 billion for the Army's "Future Combat System," a high-tech plan to make soldiers more mobile and lethal in the post-Cold War world. That is up from $1.7 billion in the current year.
Spending on unmanned spy planes such as the Air Force "Global Hawk," which are playing increasingly key roles in the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would rise to $1.97 billion in fiscal 2005, up from $1.3 billion in 2004.
http://www.*******.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4265396&pageNumber=1