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Bush to Ask for Increase in Defense Spending VOA News 2 Feb 2002 18:21 UTC 
President Bush plans to ask Congress to increase defense spending by $120 billion over the next five years - the biggest U.S. military build-up in 20 years.
U.S. news reports say Defense Department documents show that spending on weapons and other military supplies would increase from $61 billion this year to $99 billion a year by 2007. The documents show that spending on military personnel, operations, and research programs also would increase, but not as fast.
Senior U.S. officials say that with a war on terrorism under way, they expect Congress to increase military spending for next year by 12 percent -despite controversy over President Bush's missile defense system. The president will send his budget proposals to Congress on Monday. The president's budget for next year includes $7.8 billion for missile defense, roughly the same as this year's figure. The spending plan for 2003 reflects Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's call this week for more spending on high-tech weapons to protect the nation from unexpected threats. Nine-billion dollars would go to unconventional arms, ranging from unmanned spy planes carrying missiles to a laser communication system for troops.
The New York Times quotes Democratic Congressman Ike Skelton of Missouri, as saying the Pentagon budget will pass at the size the president has asked for. Mr. Skelton said the question is not whether it is the right amount of money, but whether it is spent on the right things. He said the priority should be to take care of U.S. servicemen and women and their families.
The administration's proposal for 2003 would boost troops' pay and improve their benefits.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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