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MEMORANDUM
TO: OPINION
LEADERS FROM:
GARY SCHMITT SUBJECT: Defense Budget This past week, Newsweek
reported that the OMB had refused the Pentagon’s request for an additional
$5.3 billion to pay for the 83,000 Reserves and National Guard that had
been called up since September 11. The president’s budget office
approved just $3.5 billion, telling the Defense Department that it would
have “to eat” the remaining cost. At the same time, the military
says it needs an additional 50,000 soldiers, airmen, and sailors to wage
the war, plan for Iraq, and handle existing commitments. So far, Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has rejected those appeals. President Bush says
we are engaged in a long-term, global war against terrorism. But waging
war takes men and money. Although the administration has requested an
additional $48 billion in military spending for 2003, all but $10 billion
will go to pay direct war costs and a host of expenses including pay raises
and mandatory health care costs. It’s not a question of whether we
can afford more. The proposed budget for 2003 is just 3.5 percent of gross
domestic product. Even more disheartening, the Bush Administration’s
own budget plan allows defense spending to fall back to 3.3 percent of
GDP in 2006. Meanwhile, the White
House indicated yesterday that it would sign the new farm bill that is
working its way through Congress -- a bill that will hand out tens of
billions of dollars in new subsidies to farmers. Is the administration serious about the war or not?
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