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Bush Administration Submits Amended 2002 Defense Budget to Congress
The U.S. administration Wednesday submitted to Congress a 329-billion-U.S.-dollar defense budget for the Pentagon in 2002.
The budget proposes cutting the Air Force fleet of B-1B bombers, retiring all 50 Peacekeeper long-range nuclear missiles and planning an unspecified number of base closings in 2003.
The administration's amended 2002 defense budget is 18.4 billion dollars more than President George W. Bush had proposed earlier and 33 billion dollars more than the current defense budget, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a press conference at the Pentagon.
The 18.4-billion-dollar increase is the biggest for any year since the mid-1980s, Rumsfeld added.
"If we are to extend this period of peace and prosperity, we need to prepare now for the new and different threats we will face in the decades ahead and not wait until they finally emerge," he claimed.
Despite the 33 billion dollar increase over last year, the proposed budget put no new money towards procuring weapons to modernize the force and broke little new ground on the administration's ambitious plans for transforming the U.S. military into a high-tech 21st century force, Pentagon official said.
Missile defense was the notable exception. A total of 8.3 billion dollars would go to develop a full range of missile defenses under the proposal unveiled Wednesday, a three billion dollar increase over last year.
The U.S. Air Force's fleet of 93 B-1 bombers will be reduced by one third, and the 50 MX Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile will be retired if Congress approves.
The B-1Bs cost more than 200 million dollars apiece. Now, there are 93 B-1Bs remaining. The last one was built in 1988.
Rumsfeld is asking Congress for authority to retire 33 of the 93 B-1Bs and consolidate the fleet at just two bases -- Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
Meanwhile, Dov Zakheim, the Pentagon's chief financial officer, told reporters that although the administration has no plans to close military bases in the coming year it hopes to persuade Congress that bases should be closed in 2003.
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