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Clinton Reverses Decade Old Decline in Defense Budget - Page 2

© Bryan Johnson

Still, the Clinton Administration has deployed more of America's armed services than either Reagan and Bush combined. In Clinton's six years in office, American forces have served in Somalia, Sudan, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and dozens of other regions, most of which are questionable in their support of America's national security goals.

Sensing that Congress was willing to fight the Clinton Administration over defense spending, and that Republicans were prepared to make a campaign issue out of this crucial issue, President Clinton requested some $110 billion in increased defense spending over the next six years, including a $12 billion increase for fiscal year 2000 (some of that will go to increase the military's pay, which has fallen drastically below private sector competitors for jobs).

In any event, the President's request for more defense spending should be evaluated against the recent congressional funding debates and established U.S. security commitments:

1.The President's request falls significantly short of what the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) have identified as the minimal amount of funding they need to meet current and future foreign policy commitments. Last fall, the JCS requested a minimal of $150 billion, or 30 percent more than Clinton's request, to meet the minimum level of the military's needs. Moreover, the JSC also requested some $17.5 billion for FY 2000, almost $6 billion more than Clinton's request;

2. President Clinton's $12 billion request for FY 2000 includes only about $4 billion in new spending. Because of lower-than-expected inflation and fuel costs, the defense budget has produced some significant savings over the last several years. Moreover, part of the $12 billion request will go to pay for the President initiative to extend his commitment of U.S. troops in Bosnia, something he promised four years ago to return to U.S. soil;

3. The President's proposed defense spending increase includes a pay hike. Some $2.5 billion of the President request will be used to pay for a 4.4 percent pay increase for some 1.4 million service personnel. While this pay increase is desperately needed, not only to attract new recruits, but to keep current personnel in uniform, it does not represent spending in other crucial areas, such as training, readiness, new technologies, and maintenance;

4. The President's request fails to meet the Pentagon's procurement goal of $60 billion annually, needed to meet the minimum level of current and future defense commitments. Recently, the Congressional Budget Office referred to the current defense procurement as being on a "holiday." This "holiday" is starving tomorrow's military forces of weapons systems they need in the 21st century.

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