House Backs Defense Bill With Military Pay Raise

The House approved a mammoth defense bill Monday providing money for anti-missile defenses and a pay raise for military personnel, plus a separate measure financing water and energy projects from coast to coast.

It took lawmakers less than half an hour to debate both the $250.5-billion defense measure and the $21.3-billion energy and water bill. The defense measure was approved by a vote of 369 to 43, and the energy bill passed, 389 to 25.

The startling speed and lack of controversy underlined the haste with which Congress is beginning to consider spending legislation for fiscal 1999, which begins Thursday.

The Senate is expected to approve both measures as Congress races to complete the 11 spending measures for 1999 that it has yet to send to President Clinton. Only two spending bills for 1999 have been shipped to the White House.

Clinton has already signed a stopgap bill that will keep federal agencies operating through Oct. 9.

Separately, House and Senate bargainers were meeting to work out disputes in two other spending bills, one covering agriculture programs and the other financing the Treasury Department and several smaller agencies.

The defense bill would get one dollar in every seven that the government will spend next year, but Clinton and many lawmakers agree that it is insufficient. A separate bill would allot $1.9 billion for peacekeeping troops in Bosnia and $1 billion or more to beef up training and intelligence operations.

The defense measure would grant troops a 3.6% pay raise, and contains $951 million for anti-missile defense research. It also has funds for projects close to the hearts of Congress’ two top leaders.

It provides about $500 million for seven C-130 cargo planes, one more than the Pentagon sought. The aircraft are built by Lockheed-Martin in Marietta, Ga., just outside the district of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Gingrich believes that “our national security depends on the modernization of our airlift fleet,” spokeswoman Mary Brown Brewer said.

And it has $45 million to begin construction of a giant LHD-8 amphibious assault ship, to be built at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.--hometown of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. The Pentagon has proposed refurbishing existing ships instead.