Senate Passes Measure to Increase Defense Spending by $34.4 Billion

The Senate on Thursday passed a $355.4-billion defense appropriation bill for 2003 that will deliver to the Pentagon the huge infusion of funds sought by President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The measure adds $34.4 billion to the U.S. defense budget. It was approved by a vote of 95 to 3, with little debate.

The increase was the largest in two decades for the Pentagon, which accounts for about 40% of the world’s total spending on military weaponry. Funding for procurement, research, personnel and operations-and-maintenance programs all grow by at least 9% in the Senate bill.

The House approved its version of the legislation in June.

The two chambers must resolve their differences in a conference committee.

In a written statement after the vote, Bush praised the Senate for moving quickly and urged lawmakers to finalize the legislation by early next month, after they return from their summer recess after Labor Day.

“With our nation at war, it is imperative that we address the important priority of ensuring that our troops have the resources they need,” he said.

The White House failed to get into the measure a $10-billion war contingency fund that the administration would control. Congress objected to the plan, saying that it would infringe on legislators’ prerogative to control spending. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), who chairs the subcommittee that crafted the bill, said the funds would be included in subsequent legislation.

In a statement, the White House budget office urged approval of the bill, even though $11.4 billion had been cut from the president’s request. The war contingency fund accounted for most of that money.

Passage of the measure means that the Senate made good on its pledge to clear the defense budget bill before Congress leaves for the monthlong recess.

Key disagreements were already settled before the bill reached the floor.

A deal was struck to save jobs from the canceled $11-billion Crusader artillery program. The bill provides $278 million for new Army combat systems, including a replacement for the 40-ton Crusader howitzer, itself a new weapon system but one that was deemed too heavy for the new, faster-moving style of warfare.

And lawmakers settled a dispute over funds that Democratic lawmakers had sought to delete from the administration’s missile defense program. The compromise will allow the administration to replace $814 million in deleted funds from lower-than-expected inflation and to spend it on either missile defense or counterterrorism.

The bill would further increase military salaries, which have been hiked repeatedly in recent years. This year’s increase would add 4.1% to the pay of all service members.

As often happens, the Senate chose to spend more on some procurement programs than the administration had sought.

The Senate bill provides $3.3 billion to buy 15 C-17 cargo planes, three more than the administration had asked for. The House version would buy 12.

The Senate bill would provide $250 million to buy 21 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Army, nine more than the Bush administration wanted. It would provide $315 million to buy the Navy four KC-130J refueling planes that had not been requested.

It also provides money for the purchase of 23 F-22 radar-evading fighters for the Air Force and 11 V-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys for the Marines, as Bush proposed.

The measure provides $9.2 billion to purchase four new Navy ships, four submarine refueling overhauls and other vessels. That is $960 million more than the administration sought for shipbuilding.

The vote came after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) abandoned last-minute plans to try to kill the Pentagon’s proposal to lease four Boeing 737s for ferrying administration officials and lawmakers.

McCain said the deal is too expensive and denies other companies a chance to compete. But it appeared that he would have failed if his challenge had been put to a vote.