[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2324-S2325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997 AND THE FUTURE 
                         YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, today the administration officially sent 
its budget requests to the Congress. Although much of the detailed 
budget information is still not available for review, I want to provide 
my initial views of the material we have received in the Armed Services 
Committee. On the positive side of the ledger, I was very pleased that 
the military pay raise was fully funded in this budget request. The 
young men and women who serve our Nation in uniform continue to be the 
most important asset of our Nation's defense. This year, I intend that 
the Armed Services Committee will continue to provide increased funding 
for the quality-of-life initiatives and programs we began in last 
year's authorization bill.
  Mr. President, I am troubled over several decisions made in the 
proposed budget. First is the Defense Department's decision to again 
reduce funding for critical ballistic missile defenses. We should be 
seeking ways to accelerate the development and deployment of both 
theater and national missile defense systems, not delay them. Under the 
Department's new proposal, we would not deploy a theater high altitude 
area defense system, commonly known as THAAD, or Navy upper tier, for 
another decade. This delay is unacceptable. I find it hard to believe 
that the administration would continue to place the lives of our 
service men and women at risk, by delaying this critical capability.
  Additionally, the levels of spending for modernization are perilously 
dangerous. Gains made in last year's bill, as a result of funds added 
by Congress, to revitalize modernization, may be lost due to inadequate 
levels of funding in this budget. The procurement accounts have been 
reduced by 44 percent since fiscal year 1992. This year's budget 
request decreases procurement spending even further.
  General Shalikashvili recently stated we should provide $60 billion a 
year for defense modernization by fiscal year 1998. This is 2 years 
earlier than the administration previously indicated in last year's 
budget, and now will not be achieved until fiscal year 2001. Recent 
testimony, before the Armed Services Committee by Vice Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Owens, reinforces my concerns. I agree 
with Admiral Owens that we have a ``crisis in procurement.'' I agree 
with him also, that procurement continues to be underfunded.
  While the Department's planning documents reflect increased spending 
for procurement in the outyears, I am not confident that we will ever 
get there. The administration's budget for this year reflects another 
decline in procurement spending. It appears that each year, 
modernization is used as a bill payer to fix other near term problems. 
This concerns me. I fail to see how this budget provides for adequate 
modernization. I believe that the Congress will be required to add 
funds to the defense budget again this year, to provide for minimal 
levels of modernization.
  The Armed Services Committee will continue to look for opportunities 
to work with the military services, as we did last year, to add funds 
where they will have the most beneficial effects. We intend to invest 
money now where these investments will save money in the future.

[[Page S2325]]

  As an example, last year we provided authority for multiyear 
procurement and an additional $82 million for the Longbow Apache 
Helicopter Program in the fiscal year 1996 Defense bill. As a result, 
we may save up to $1 billion over the life of this program. We want to 
continue to look at other innovative ways to achieve savings, which can 
then be applied toward other vital defense needs.
  Finally, I remain concerned about the increasing frequency of 
deployments and the amount of time our men and women in uniform spend 
away from their homes and families. Ongoing and contingency operations, 
such as Haiti and Bosnia, not only drain resources away from current 
and future readiness, but place undue strain on our service members and 
their families.
  Over the course of the next couple of months, the Armed Services 
Committee will continue to conduct an extensive evaluation of the 
budget request. Readiness, both current and long term, must be 
maintained and in some cases, revitalized. Modernization must be 
restored. Missile defense must become a reality.

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