Expert Sees Only ‘Modest’ Gains in Military Buildup

WASHINGTON — Although military officials say America’s fighting machine is much tougher thanks to a $1-trillion defense buildup, it is hard to tell if taxpayers got their money’s worth, a budget expert told Congress today.

Rudolph Penner, head of the Congressional Budget Office, said broad quantitative measurements show “only modest improvements” in the U.S. military after four years of accelerated defense spending under President Reagan.

Testifying before a House Armed Services subcommittee, Penner said, “There is a huge gap between what the military officers tell us about the improvements” in various facets of the military “and what we can count.”

“They feel much better about it than our numbers suggest they should,” he said.