The Federal Budget is Released: In Defense vs. Domestic, Defense Wins
The Bush Administration released its budget on April 9, although the details on military spending will not be available for at least another month. While overall discretionary spending will rise $25.7 billion, the Pentagon will receive $14.2 billion or 55 percent of the increase.
Total Discretionary Spending over which Congress has direct control:
Fiscal 2001 enacted: $635.0 billion Fiscal 2002 request: $660.7 billion Increase: $25.7
Total Defense (including Dept. of Energy):
Fiscal 2001 enacted: $310.6 billion Fiscal 2002 request: $324.8 billion Increase: $14.2
According to House Budget Committee Democrats, expenditures of non-defense programs will rise only 0.4%, or $6.2 billion below the level to keep up with inflation.
Meanwhile, last week the Senate voted to add $10 billion for defense when it considered the budget resolution, bringing the total to a staggering $335 billion. At that level, defense spending would actually reach the Cold War average. From 1946 to 1989 the United States spent an average of $336 billion a year on defense. During that time, we were facing a powerful and confident Soviet Union with huge conventional forces, a mighty nuclear force, and a chain of allies throughout Eastern and Central Europe.
While the Pentagon is a budget winner, many domestic discretionary programs suffer funding cuts:
- $189 million from Higher Education $541 million from Training and Employment Services
- $1.026 billion from Law Enforcement Assistance, Community Policing and other justice programs
- $223 million from Small and Minority Business Assistance (31%)
- $227 million from disaster relief $109 million from Small Business Administration disaster loans (59%)
- $338 million from Energy Supply programs $354.1 million from clean up programs at former defense sites
- $756 million from Water Resources programs including flood prevention efforts
- $498 million from Pollution control and abatement programs $1.23 billion from Conservation and Land Management programs
- $144 million from Animal and Plant Inspection program