Democrats Mute Criticism on Funding for Missile Defense

The Bush administration’s goal of building a system to ward off missile attacks gained ground Friday, as key Democratic lawmakers skeptical of the plans agreed to allow more spending on the controversial proposal.

It was the second significant concession by Senate Democrats on missile defense this week, showing anew how President Bush’s hand on Capitol Hill has been strengthened as the country prepares for a war on terrorism.

Postponing a potentially divisive debate after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the top committee Republican, worked out a truce Friday on missile defense as the Senate took up a bill authorizing more than $343 billion in Defense Department programs.

Their agreement would give Bush an additional $1.3 billion to spend on research, development, testing and evaluation of a missile defense system or on counter-terrorism programs, whichever the president considers more important.

Before the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, Democrats had sought to cut that amount of money from Bush’s original $8.3 billion request for missile defense in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Republicans had vowed to back the president.

Levin said Friday that all debate on the matter should be shelved for now as lawmakers rush to support the president in a time of national crisis. He told the Senate he did not wish to “create dissent when we need unity,” though he warned that the issue could come up again any time Senate Democrats want to revive it.

Senators said the Levin-Warner accord, attached as an amendment to the defense bill, had the blessing of top administration officials and was expected to win approval in the House. Votes in each chamber on the defense bill are expected next week.

Earlier this week, Senate Democrats gave ground on a related matter when Levin agreed to drop proposed limits on certain kinds of missile defense spending. The provision would have required congressional approval of any funding for missile defense programs found to be in violation of the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty. Levin is now pushing the provision as a separate bill, but its prospects are uncertain.

The ABM treaty, for many years a cornerstone of arms control in the nuclear age, is viewed by the Bush administration as an outdated relic of the Cold War. The president this year has begun consultations with Russia in an effort to revise the pact.

Bush contends that the United States, with or without the treaty, must seek to defend itself against possible missile attacks by “rogue” nations or other hostile groups seeking to use weapons of mass destruction. Critics say it would be a mistake to spend too much money on an unproven idea that might never offer a guarantee of safety from missile attacks and could lead to a destabilizing arms race.

Both sides claim that the Sept. 11 attacks strengthened their arguments. Proponents say that terrorists could soon gain access to missile technology. Critics, calling that scenario far-fetched, say the United States should focus on more immediate security concerns.

Although Friday’s accord allows Bush to spend the $1.3 billion on counter-terrorism programs, Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) predicted that most of the money would go toward missile defense. “It’s a good compromise,” Allard said. “It gives the administration the opportunity to move forward with missile defense testing, which is crucial.”

Critics of missile defense acknowledged a temporary retreat. “The terrorist attacks have obviously changed the dynamics for the moment,” said John Isaacs of the Council for a Livable World, a pro-arms control group opposed to the Bush plan. “We have obviously been set back. But we will resume the fight next year.”

The underlying defense bill authorizes more than $343 billion for Pentagon programs in 2002. It has not been significantly reshaped since the terrorist attacks but lawmakers, who last week approved $40 billion in emergency spending for defense and disaster relief, say they expect within days to receive requests for more defense spending.

The administration is expected to ask for billions of additional dollars. One pressing need is for funds to upgrade and rebuild the Pentagon.