Panel Slashes Space Defense Research Funds

The House Armed Services Committee, meeting in closed session Tuesday, slashed President Reagan’s $3.7-billion request for “Star Wars” space defense research to $2.5 billion in fiscal 1986.

At the same time, the Democratic-controlled committee rejected several proposals by Democrats to prohibit the Administration from conducting any testing related to the program, formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative.

$1.2-Billion Cut

According to Rep. Jim Courter (R-N.J.), who attended the meeting, the committee agreed by voice vote to cut $1.2 billion from Reagan’s request after rejecting several alternatives.

Advocates of the $1.2-billion cut, recommended by the Armed Services subcommittee on research and development, argued that the Administration’s original request for a 165% increase in “Star Wars” spending over the current fiscal year was unjustified--particularly when Congress is struggling to gain control over the federal deficit. The $2.5 billion, they noted, still represents an 80% increase over current funding.

In addition, they cited a recent Congressional Budget Office report that indicated the Administration had spent only 2.5% of its fiscal 1985 appropriation by Feb. 28, midway through the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Courter, who tried unsuccessfully to restore some of the $1.2-billion cut, said the vote on “Star Wars” was indicative of an overall budget-cutting mood in the Armed Services Committee.

At the start of the session, Chairman Les Aspin (D-Wis.) predicted that the total 1986 defense budget, expected to emerge from the committee later this week, will provide for no increase in spending apart from a 4% rise to account for inflation.

According to committee sources, Aspin believes that the committee will produce a 1986 defense budget of $304.5 billion. Reagan requested $313.7 billion, or a 5.9% increase after inflation. The current defense budget is $292.5 billion.

Senate Trims Cited

Courter said that his proposal to spend $3.1 billion on “Star Wars” research next year was rejected by a vote of 35 to 11. But he noted that the $600-million cut recommended under his plan still is twice as much as was trimmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If Congress continues to trim money for “Star Wars,” Courter predicted, the government will be unable to evaluate the workability of the program until the year 2000--nine years later than the original target date.

“It’s still going to cost $26 billion--just don’t expect the information in 1991,” he said.

The committee rejected also a proposal by California Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Berkeley) to slash next year’s expenditure for “Star Wars” to $954.9 million. According to Marilyn Elrod, an aide to Dellums, his proposal was designed to limit the Administration to “pure research” and to eliminate all research that could ultimately produce a test.

Test Restrictions Rejected

Likewise, the committee voted down a proposal co-sponsored by Reps. Nicholas Mavroules (D-Mass.) and Dennis M. Hertel (D-Mich.) that sought to restrict any testing by trimming the “Star Wars” budget to $1.4 billion--the same amount Congress approved for fiscal 1985.

Proponents of those cuts argued that they were trying to make certain that the Administration continues to comply with the 1972 U.S.-Soviet treaty limiting the testing of anti-missile defenses. But Courter countered that “no part of this program” would violate the treaty.

Later this week, the committee will consider a subcommittee proposal permitting the President to produce 21 MX missiles in fiscal 1986--or less than half of the 48 he is seeking. It will also consider proposals rejected in subcommittee to require the Administration to buy some of Northrop Corp.’s F-20 fighter planes in fiscal 1986.