Beefed-Up Defense Bill Passes

Overcoming objections to base closings, Congress gave final approval Thursday to a $343-billion defense authorization bill. It includes the largest military pay raise in two decades, an increase in anti-terrorism money and full funding of President Bush’s missile defense efforts.

The vote in the House was 382 to 40, followed several hours later by a 96-2 vote in the Senate.

The measure now goes to Bush for his signature. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who threatened to recommend a veto if the bill did not include a base closing round in 2003, would not say whether the 2005 round in the legislation would allay that threat.

The legislation authorizes spending by the Defense Department and military efforts of the Energy Department for the budget year that began Oct. 1. It contains a $33-billion increase, or 10.6%, over 2001 spending.

Also Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed the intelligence authorization bill by a voice vote and sent it to the White House. It places new emphasis on human spy networks and calls for an increase of about 8% in spending. The actual spending on intelligence, generally not made public, has been estimated at $30 billion for the last few years.

The defense measure offers service members a minimum 5% across-the-board pay raise--10% increases in some cases--effective Jan. 1. “The most generous pay raise in 20 years” was the assessment of Rep. Bob Stump (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The bill provides more help with moving expenses and a major boost in construction spending, including improvements to family housing.

“Halfway around the globe, thousands of sons and daughters are engaged in a noble cause against the forces of evil and intolerance,” said Stump. “Our job is to support them, provide them the necessary resources and tools to successfully accomplish this task and ensure that they are safely returned to their families.”

At the same time, the bill “has something in it to disappoint virtually everyone involved,” Stump said. Opposition from Stump and others to base closings delayed passage for a month.

The agreement to one round of base closings in 2005, two years after the administration wanted one, was the compromise he proposed to get the legislation through.

Rumsfeld pushed hard for a base closing round in 2003. It could save $3 billion or more a year for essential military activities, Rumsfeld had said, adding that he would recommend that Bush veto the bill unless that was included.

Asked about the status of the veto threat, Rumsfeld said Thursday at a Pentagon news conference: “I’m going to have to sleep on that.”

The delay in closings would mean that the nation would retain as many as one-quarter more bases than it needs, Rumsfeld said. That would divert dollars and military personnel from accomplishing “something truly important with respect to the war on terrorism, and it’s a shame,” he said.

Many lawmakers were skeptical about the savings, and they opposed shutdowns while the nation is at war and mired in an economic slump.

A nine-member commission appointed by the president, in consultation with Congress, would review the Defense secretary’s list of facilities to be closed.

The president could approve the commission’s list and send it to Congress or return it to the panel. Neither Congress nor the president could make changes to the list.

On missile defense research and development, Bush would get his full $8.3 billion request, a $3.1 billion increase over 2001.