Senate Rebuffs Reagan on ‘Star Wars’ Funding Hike

The Senate refused today to increase spending for “Star Wars,” setting up another potential fight with President Reagan over the budget for his cherished missile defense program.

The chamber voted down, 50 to 44, a move to add $500 million to the “Star Wars” budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

“This is a preview of the presidential campaign,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a supporter of the increase, told his colleagues during the brief debate.

Supporters of the increase “believe in protecting our security,” McCain said, while “opponents believe in undermining our security.”

But Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.) said “Star Wars” “has been characterized by hype and flimflam” and urged that military spending increases go for needed improvements in conventional defenses instead of research projects.

Second Attempt

The decision came as the Senate began a second attempt to write a Pentagon budget bill.

Reagan vetoed the first Pentagon measure approved by the Democratic-controlled Congress, partly because the bill cut too deeply into his request for the Strategic Defense Initiative, as “Star Wars” is formally known.

Reagan wanted $4.8 billion for SDI next year, compared with the current $3.9-billion figure. The vetoed bill would have authorized $4 billion.

The appropriation bill now on the Senate floor is also based on a $4-billion SDI budget. Sen. Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.) moved to add $500 million to that account.

Wallop said congressional reductions in the SDI budget mean that the entire range of possible anti-missile technologies cannot be pursued.

‘To Set Things Right’

Another supporter, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), said, “What we have here is an opportunity to set things right.”

But Sen. J. James Exon (D-Neb.) said that, “if we have additional money” in the Pentagon budget, “there are other, higher-priority places for that money to go.” He said it should be budgeted to improve conventional defenses, particularly in Western Europe.

Earlier today, the Senate voted 75 to 20 for an amendment to let Japan buy the Navy’s sophisticated Aegis air defense system to help patrol the western Pacific. As written, the bill would have blocked the Aegis sale unless Japan also bought U.S.-built ships for the hardware. Japan wants to buy the Aegis system alone for installation in Japanese-built ships.