Pentagon budget hits some rough spots on Capitol Hill.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Not enough money for Defense, legislators scream in Congress - Brief Article

The Pentagon's budget request for fiscal year 2003, for the most part, has been well received on Capitol Hill. Nevertheless, several lawmakers have voiced discontent about low levels of funding for shipbuilding and for military construction, and have cautioned that the administration's request for a $10 billion war reserve may not be an acceptable option.

The Bush administration requested $379 billion for national defense, a $38 billion increase from last year. That includes $68 billion for procurement of new weapons. The 2003 budget is about 3.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Almost 25 percent of the budget-about $94 billion-is slated for military pay raises. Increases also were made for military housing allowances and health care to the tune of $22 billion.

The budget includes $27 billion in new funds for anti-terrorism efforts, said Larry Lanzillotta, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense in the office of the comptroller. The money will be used, he said, to "root out terrorists, terminate their sponsorship by state and non-state entities, and reduce the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction."

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., chairman of the defense subcommittee at House Appropriations, said he generally was pleased that the defense budget boosts intelligence accounts by 25 percent. "Intelligence is what set us apart in Afghanistan. ... In this rapidly shrinking, very dangerous world, one of the biggest needs is to develop human intelligence, because that impacts our understanding of the world," he said.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., the ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee said: "One good thing about the budget this year is that we should see continued growth in companies doing defense work in general, and especially in the programs that play a critical role in homeland security. ... I feel confident we'll see more jobs growth with the new budget."

A $10 billion request for a war-reserve fund, meanwhile, has irked some lawmakers, who don't like to appropriate money that has not been specifically earmarked for particular programs. A congressional staffer said that Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Budget Committee, is "not likely to put [the war reserve] in the budget without strings attached," said the staffer. There will be "some members who will not want it as a reserve, but just added to defense," he said.

Several key lawmakers are unhappy about the shipbuilding account, which funds...