04 February 2002

Bush Sends $379,300 Million Defense Budget Request To Congress

Washington -- The Bush administration is asking Congress to increase the Pentagon's annual budget by $120,000 million over the next five years to $451,400 million in 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) says.

The fiscal year (FY) 2003 budget request that President George Bush submitted to Congress February 4 would increase defense spending to $379,300 million, or a 14 percent increase over FY 2002 spending, according to Pentagon figures. The Bush budget request represents the largest increase in military spending in 21 years.

The FY 2003 defense budget advances Bush administration priorities in four critical areas:

• Fight and win the war on terrorism,

• Maintain the morale and readiness of the U.S. armed forces,

• Transform the armed forces to a highly agile and mobile force with 21st century communications, and

• Continue to improve DOD management operations.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to appear before the Senate and House Armed Services committees February 5-8 to testify on behalf of the Bush administration's FY 2003 defense budget.

In addition to fighting terrorism, the 2003 defense budget year, which begins October 1, includes a 4.1 percent pay raise for military personnel, defenses against missile attack, vastly increased development of pilotless planes for surveillance and attack, and hundreds of millions for a new generation of stealth fighter jets and Navy warships.

Under long-range Pentagon budget projections, defense spending would rise to $387,900 million in 2004, $408,800 million in 2005, $429,600 million in 2006, and would top out at $451,400 million in 2007.

The number of active-duty military personnel is set at 1,389,700, and the reserve forces total is set at 864,600, which is no change from current force levels, the Pentagon said.

The FY 2003 Bush defense budget allocates $90,900 million to the Army, $108,300 million to the Navy and Marine Corps, and $107 million to the Air Force, the Pentagon said. Defense-wide spending would rise to $52,900 million and the Defense Emergency Response Fund would jump to $20,100 million, the Pentagon said.

The proposed missile defense program is budgeted for $7,800 million in FY 2003, unchanged from 2002.

The Pentagon is scheduled to receive $27,200 million to wage the military war on terrorism, according to defense figures. In FY 2002 the Pentagon received $5,200 million for terrorism operations, but that was boosted to $13,700 million shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States.

Currently, the Pentagon said, it estimates spending approximately $8,000 million on the war in Afghanistan, which began October 7.

The Bush defense budget seeks:

• $158 million to buy 22 Air Force Predators (unmanned aerial vehicles), and to upgrade and arm the existing fleet;

• $170 million to buy three Air Force Global Hawk high-altitude surveillance planes;

• a $100,700 million set aside to buy 12 Army Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles;

• $306 million to accelerate development of improvements to the Global Hawk;

• $83 million to begin development of the Navy's Unmanned Underwater Vehicle;

• $826 million to continue development of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Communications System;

• $43 million to accelerate development of the Space Based Radar;

• $707 million for the Army's Future Combat System;

• the Army would purchase 332 interim armored vehicles and 5,631 M-16 combat assault rifles;

• $910.2 million for continued development of the Army's RAH-66 Comanche stealth combat helicopter;

• $1,018 million to convert four Trident ballistic missile submarines to carry more than 150 conventional Tomahawk cruise missiles, and provide covert transportation for special operations forces.

• $8,600 million for the Navy to buy five warships, that would include two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers, one Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, one LPD-17 Amphibious Transport Dock ship, and one T-AKE Combat Logistic Force ship. -- $961 million for the Navy to initiate its DD-X surface warships, which will become a family of advanced technology warships rather than a single class warship.

• $4,600 million for 23 Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighter aircraft;

• $3,500 million for the F-35 multi-role Joint Strike Fighter;

• $3,100 million for 44 Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter planes;

• and $2,000 million for the Marine Corps' V-22 Osprey.