3% Defense Hike Proposed; Weinberger Warns on Cuts

Tacitly acknowledging that controlling the federal deficit is as urgent a priority as modernizing military arms, the Reagan Administration on Monday asked Congress for a 3% increase in defense spending in the coming year after accounting for inflation, the smallest hike yet proposed by the Administration.

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger suggested that it would be a “tragic mistake” if Congress imposes major cuts in the $312-billion defense budget request.

The Pentagon, complying with the wishes of Congress, for the first time submitted a budget covering the next two years. It projected another 3% increase for fiscal 1989 and pointed to military expenditures totaling $1.7 trillion over the next five years.

Included in the proposed outlay for the coming fiscal year is another $5.34 billion for President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars” program, a hefty increase over the $3.23 billion allocated for fiscal 1987, which began Oct. 1. The controversial project became a prime target of congressional budget cutters in this fiscal year’s budget.

In addition, an outlay of $110 million for “assistance for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance” was requested for fiscal 1988.

At the same time, the Administration proposed to make savings by stretching out its planned procurement of tanks, helicopters, ships and tactical aircraft.

Weinberger was questioned about the options open to him if Congress forces more choices between the continued buildup of strategic nuclear arms and pressing the modernization of conventional forces.

“Rather than chop it up before it even hardens, I would rather continue to push for what we’ve asked, which I consider to be a very modest request, a fully defensible request,” he told reporters at the Pentagon.

“We have . . . stretched out procurement. We don’t have quite as high a pay increase for the troops as I think is justified, in view of the cuts that have been made before. We’ve done a number of things to try to respond to the evident desire to deal with budget deficits, and I don’t think it is appropriate and I hope it won’t be necessary to line out additional cuts that need to be made.”

Tough Battle Expected

Nevertheless, the defense budget is expected to be the subject of one of the toughest budget battles between the Administration and the new Democrat-controlled Congress.

Key Democrats agreed Monday that a 3% annual growth in the nation’s defense budget is reasonable, but they questioned how the Administration had made its calculations, and they expressed doubts whether such an increase this year is politically feasible.

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he applauded the Administration’s decision to “request a reasonable level of real growth.”

But he added: “I do not mean to say I expect the Administration’s request to be approved without change. While I believe the defense needs of the country call for at least 3% real growth, I doubt the current political situation will permit that growth. I would guess we are likely to end up with a fiscal 1988 appropriation somewhere around $300 billion to $305 billion--between 0% and 1% real growth.”

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), who becomes Senate Armed Services Committee chairman as the Democrats assume control of his chamber, suggested that he will sharply question the defense priorities reflected in the budget.

Will Address ‘Dilemma’

Long known as an advocate of strong conventional-deterrent forces, Nunn said he plans to talk with fellow senators about “the dilemma of trying to fund too many systems.”

When he was asked whether Congress might cancel some of the Defense Department’s new weapons programs outright, he replied: “We would have been much better off if we’d done that the last three or four years.”

Although Nunn has supported 3% defense budget increases, he agreed with Aspin on the fiscal 1988 request, saying it will be “very difficult” to get congressional approval for the increase in the “overall mosaic,” in which Congress is urgently pressed to meet budget targets mandated by the Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction act.

Argues Against Cuts

But Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), who will relinquish his chairmanship and become the ranking minority member of the Budget Committee, suggested that, as the Administration has moderated its arms budget request, Congress should also back away from its vigorous cutting of Pentagon spending.

“That ballgame is over, it seems to me,” he said. “I don’t think there is any more room to cut defense.”

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released a report touching on the question of whether modernization and improvement of the United States’ conventional deterrent is suffering because of the priority put on strategic programs such as “Star Wars” and MX missile deployment.

The 1988 Pentagon budget request gives each of the military services virtually the same share of the defense budget in the next two years as this year. But the Congressional Budget Office study concluded that the Army’s budget needs to increase by about 6% a year if it is to meet its goals for readiness and modernization.

The plan submitted Monday morning as part of the federal government’s first trillion-dollar budget called for total 1988 budget authority of $312 billion for the Defense Department and the nuclear weapons work carried out by the Energy Department. It called for Pentagon expenditures totaling $303.3 billion for fiscal 1988, which begins Oct. 1, increasing to $323.3 billion in fiscal 1989.

Funding for MX Sought

Besides the increase for “Star Wars” research, the strategic modernization program called for $1.25 billion to continue deployment of the nuclear-tipped MX missile begun last year. In 1988, the Defense Department plans to place 21 more MXs in modified Minuteman missile silos.

At the same time, the budget asks for outlays of $2.2 billion on a single-warhead, mobile intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed the Midgetman, which is envisioned as a step toward more security against a possible Soviet first strike on U.S. land-based missiles.

In addition, the Pentagon has requested $1.3 billion for construction of another Trident missile-launching submarine.

But, at the same time, the Administration opted to stretch out deployment of new conventional weapons systems, including the M-60 Abrams Tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and Blackhawk helicopters.

Ship Numbers Reduced

Earlier plans to build 24 new ships were cut back to 16, but Weinberger said the Navy still will reach its goal of deploying a fleet of 600 ships by the end of the decade. And, in a further cutback of conventional forces, the Administration reduced its goal of 40 Air Force tactical fighter wings to 37.

The Pentagon also asked Congress for $721 million to continue its stepped-up purchases of space-launch vehicles needed because of the grounding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s shuttle fleet after the Challenger disaster last January.