House Leaders Back Call for $114 Billion in Defense Cuts : Budget: Rep. Aspin’s plan would trim spending over five years. A battle with the White House is expected.

The House Democratic leadership Tuesday endorsed a plan by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee to slice $114 billion from the defense budget over the next five years, setting the stage for another major battle with the Bush Administration.

At a session with reporters, Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said the plan, unveiled formally Tuesday afternoon by Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), is “a very responsible and well-schooled approach” that has his support and that of other House leaders.

The proposal, one of four possible scenarios that Aspin has laid out for cutting the defense budget, would slash more than double the $50 billion in reductions that President Bush has recommended for the same five-year period.

Aspin outlined the proposal during testimony before the House Budget Committee, which is beginning to draft the annual budget resolution that is expected to set the parameters for the defense budget debate.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, still has not made his own proposal. Aides said he has delayed delivering his testimony to the Senate Budget Committee, which was scheduled for this week, and is now drafting a plan for presentation to the panel.

Among other congressional proposals for defense cuts over five years: Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) has suggested cutting $100 billion; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), $115 billion and Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), $74 billion.

Senate aides said Nunn’s plan likely would fall midway between Aspin’s proposal and the Administration’s more modest approach.

But even an attempt to split the difference would draw cries of anguish from the Pentagon, forcing cuts in personnel that military officials say would make massive layoffs inevitable.

Although Aspin stressed that his plan is only a “first cut” at determining a defense spending target and that it might be altered later by the House Armed Services Committee, its endorsement by the House leadership marks the first serious congressional response to Bush’s proposal.

Aspin has insisted that Bush’s proposal does not sufficiently consider the reduced threat from the former Soviet republics and is not based on a thorough rethinking of defense needs.

Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Tuesday that his panel most likely will go along with Aspin’s recommendation to trim some $114 billion over the five-year period, although some lawmakers are leery that the cuts could cost jobs at home.

Panetta also indicated that his panel will recommend removing the prohibition, enacted after the 1990 budget accord, against using savings from the defense budget to help finance domestic spending programs. Bush so far has generally opposed any such move.

Aspin said his own proposals envision slashing the number of Air Force air wings to 10, compared to the 15 listed in the Pentagon’s current “base force” plan; the number of active Army divisions to nine, rather than 12; and Marine Corps divisions to two, down from 2 1/3 in the Pentagon plan.

For the Navy, it would mean cutting the total number of ships to 340, from 450 in the base force plan; reducing the number of aircraft carriers to 12, from the 13 in the Pentagon plan; and cutting the total submarine force to 40 vessels, down from 80 anticipated by the military.

Aspin defended his plan against suggestions that it might diminish the ability of the United States to function as a superpower on the world scene, a concern expressed by some Administration officials.

He said his proposal would still provide enough arms and personnel to enable the United States to simultaneously conduct a combat operation similar to last year’s Operation Desert Storm, engage in a regional skirmish in an area such as North Korea as well as pre-position troops abroad.

He said his plan would also beef up U.S. sealift capability beyond the level in Bush’s proposed defense budget. A lack of sealift facilities and ships was cited as a major factor hampering U.S. efforts in Desert Storm.

The three alternative scenarios that Aspin outlined Tuesday detailed budget-cutting plans ranging from $38 billion to $231 billion over five years.

During his testimony, Aspin warned that the House Armed Services Committee might well revise its proposals once it conducts hearings soon on the defense budget. He said he hopes to have a more formal defense spending recommendation by April 1.

He also cautioned that lawmakers may want to reduce defense spending more slowly during the first few years of the five-year period in order to provide more time for the economy to adjust to the influx of military personnel and defense industry workers on the job market.

The jobs issue already has become an important one in the debate over how much to cut the defense budget. Many lawmakers fear that slashing military spending too sharply might only exacerbate unemployment and keep the economy in a slump.

The issue of whether to remove the prohibition against using savings from defense cutbacks for domestic programs is also a critical question. Liberals want to use any savings to finance new domestic initiatives, while conservatives want to use it to reduce the budget deficit.

Doubling the Defense Cuts

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has outlined a plan for cutting defense spending by $114 billion over the next five years--more than double the $50 billion in reductions proposed by President Bush. Here is how his plan would compare with the Pentagon “base force” proposal, the cutback plan that is now in effect:

Category Aspin Plan Base Force ARMY Active Divisions 9 12 Reserve Divisions 6 6 Cadre Divisions 0 2 AIR FORCE Active Wings 10 15 Reserve Wings 8 11 NAVY Total Ships 340 450 Aircraft Carriers 12 13 Nuclear Submarines 40 80 Assault Ships 50 50 MARINE CORPS Active Divisions 2 2 1/3 Reserve Divisions 1 1 SEALIFT FACILITIES Fast Sealift Ships 24 8

Source: House Armed Services Committee