Cheney Cuts $10 Billion in ‘Hard Choices’ at Pentagon

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney today detailed his $10 billion in Pentagon budget cuts and said the “hard choices” included reductions in dozens of weapons systems, a $1-billion slash in Star Wars research money and 16,800 military manpower cutbacks.

Cheney, making his first appearance as defense secretary before his former colleagues in the House, told the Armed Services Committee that only the Marine Corps had been spared manpower cuts.

“No program was excluded from consideration during the budget adjustment process,” Cheney told the House panel at the start of what was expected to be a daylong hearing.

“But my top priorities are quality people, forward strategy, readiness and sustainability, efficient procurement and strategic modernization. The adjustments we made to the budget were implemented within this context.”

Under the budget agreement reached earlier this spring between the Bush Administration and Congress, the Pentagon is required to cut spending plans by $10 billion for the next fiscal year.

Cheney said that in making the budget changes, “not only did we have to make hard choices, but we also had to make sure that they were the right choices.”

Funding for Star Wars research has been cut by $1 billion to a new total of $4.6 billion for fiscal 1990, Cheney said.