Reagan Vetoes Defense Bill, Protests Return to ‘Weakness’ : Says He’s Losing Patience With Military Erosion

President Reagan today vetoed a $299.5-billion defense bill, saying it would weaken the United States militarily, but Democrats charged that it was a political move to boost George Bush’s election campaign.

Reagan, appearing before reporters to announce his veto, called the defense bill an unacceptable throwback to the “weakness and accommodation of the 1970s.”

“I have been patient as the liberals in Congress attempted to erode our military strength, the strength that has provided the basis for our diplomatic success,” Reagan said. “But I can be patient no longer.”

Objects to Restraints

Unlike earlier clashes with Congress over Pentagon spending, Reagan objected not to the price tag, which was consistent with a budget agreement negotiated last fall, but with its proposed restraints on strategic arms programs.

In particular, he asserted that a cut in “Star Wars” funding from a requested $4.9 billion to $4.1 billion was tantamount to “gutting” the program and, seizing on a claim contained in a news release issued by Democrats on Capitol Hill, he said he would not allow Congress to “take the stars out of ‘Star Wars.’ ”

Reagan also contended that proposed curbs on certain ballistic missile tests and a requirement that two Poseidon submarines be removed from service to stay within weapons limits of the unratified SALT II treaty would represent “unilateral concessions” to the Soviets.

Supported by Carlucci

Reagan’s defense secretary, Frank C. Carlucci, had supported the bill.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Reagan was giving in to campaign politics and the demands of conservative members of his party by turning the authorization bill into a “political football.”

“It would be a travesty now, after so much constructive bipartisan cooperation, for the President to start playing presidential politics with the nation’s defense and bow to the desperate clamor of the right wing for a presidential campaign issue,” Kennedy said.

Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), the third-ranking Democrat in the House, noted that Bush had supported the veto and said: “If he wants (Pentagon mismanagement) debated for the next few months, that is all right with us. George Bush wants to play politics. The defense veto will come back to haunt them.”

Hard to Override

The veto may be difficult to override, particularly in the House. The bill was passed July 14 by both the House and Senate, and the votes in both Democratic-controlled chambers generally went along party lines.

The House vote was 229 to 183 and the Senate tally was 64 to 30. A successful veto override would require a two-thirds margin in each chamber.

Reagan, asked about the Democrats’ charges after reading his veto statement, told reporters: “The partisan politics is on the other side.

“They (Democrats) have taken it upon themselves to change where the spending is going to take place and remove it from some things and add it to others. . . . There are a great many there who just don’t want SDI (the Strategic Defense Initiative) at all.”

But Reagan acknowledged that Bush agreed with his decision to veto the bill.