Reagan Seeks Support for ‘Star Wars’ Spending

President Reagan called on the public Saturday to help him convince Congress that the $5.4 billion he has requested to finance his Strategic Defense Initiative in fiscal 1987 is “a prudent investment” in security for the Western Alliance.

Using his weekly radio address to counterattack against congressional moves to slash funds for the SDI program, popularly known as “Star Wars,” Reagan told listeners: “It’s imperative your voice is heard.

“In the weeks ahead, it would be a tragedy to permit the budget pressures of today to destroy this vital research program and undercut our chances for a safer and more secure tomorrow,” Reagan said from Camp David, Md., where he is spending the weekend.

Lawmakers Trim Request

The House Armed Services Committee has approved only $3.7 billion for the program (equivalent to $3.577 billion in 1986 dollars), while the Senate Armed Services Committee has recommended reducing Reagan’s request to $3.9 billion.

As he has done before, Reagan declared that his Administration’s plan for all-out research aimed at developing SDI weapons to match and surpass the Soviet Union’s progress in missile defenses “is not a bargaining chip” in current arms reduction talks with Moscow.

In an interview with The Times on June 23, Reagan said he considered the eventual deployment of SDI a negotiable item in arms reduction talks, but proposed to proceed with research and development of the system to protect the world against a “madman” who might use nuclear weapons.

‘Reliable Defenses’

In Saturday’s address, Reagan said: “It’s the number of offensive nuclear missiles that need to be reduced, not the effort to find a way to defend mankind against these deadly missiles. And reliable defenses could also serve as insurance against cheating or breaking out of an arms reduction agreement.”

Concluding that “nothing of great value . . . comes cheap,” Reagan said: “A defensive system which can protect us and our allies against all ballistic missiles, nuclear and conventional, is a prudent investment.”