NATION : Bush’s $300-Billion Defense Plan Slashed by House Panel
President Bush’s plans for nearly $300 billion in defense spending next year came under attack today on Capitol Hill as the House Budget Committee passed 21 to 14 a $1.24-trillion Democratic-written budget that slashed $8 billion from the President’s plan for Pentagon spending.
The full House is scheduled next week to debate the Democratic proposal to shift the Pentagon money to domestic programs.
The committee’s action represented the fullest statement of budget priorities by Congress’ majority Democrats since the Warsaw Pact disintegrated.
“The President’s budget virtually ignored the opportunities presented by the dramatic changes taking place in the world,” committee Chairman Leon Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) said. “This budget meets that challenge head-on.
“We have a chance to restore the traditional peacetime priorities of our nation at a time when we are faced with tremendous economic challenges at home and abroad,” Panetta said.
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