AP. 20 September 2001. Defense Spending Bill Endorsed; Attack Response May Bring Deficits. Combined reports. WASHINGTON -- House members of both parties set aside their differences on missile defense Thursday as they endorsed quick passage of a $343 billion defense bill and said last week's terrorist attacks made clear the nation's security needs. A final House vote on the bill -- which covers defense work by the Defense and Energy departments -- was expected next week. The Pentagon and the Bush administration are assessing what else will be needed, Stump said. He urged the House to pass the bill now and let it be adjusted later. The House bill includes $8.2 billion for missile defense. President Bush had requested $8.3 billion, an increase of $3 billion over this year's spending. The version approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Democrats, seeks $7 billion for missile defense. House Democrats had planned to try to cut about $1 billion from the missile defense funds, but declined to press that Thursday, part of an effort to show a united front to the world. The House bill also contains the largest military pay increase since 1982 -- a raise of 5 percent to 10 percent for every service member. As for the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, the bill would require the Navy to continue training there until top Defense Department officials certify an equivalent or better site was immediately available. [N.B.] It also would cancel a planned November referendum by the people on Vieques regarding the Navy's future there. "I'm sure Puerto Ricans and Americans all over will stand tall and square their shoulders and say, 'This is important,'" said Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah. A potential $100 billion price tag for America's response to terrorism and reviving an economy further weakened by last week's attacks could revive federal deficits next year for the first time since 1997. The return of federal red ink would end a string of four straight annual surpluses and mark a stunning turnaround from May, when the Congressional Budget Office envisioned a 2002 surplus of $304 billion. "We're dealing with a national emergency, and we're going to spend and do what it takes to deal with it in the most effective way," House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said Thursday. "We're going to do what we need to do." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
