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| May 2, 2002 | |||
President and Republicans Put Defense First
Senate Democrats Should Just Say "Yes" to Moving the Defense Appropriation Bill First
As the Majority party, Senate Democrats set the schedule -- they get to choose which bills will come to the Senate Floor and in which order. So last year, even as U.S. troops were risking their lives fighting the war on terrorism, Senate Democrats decided to delay consideration of the Defense Appropriation bill -- which funds our military and the men and women in uniform -- until the final days of the legislative session. One possible reason: Democrats wanted to use the Department of Defense bill to leverage higher levels of unrelated spending.
Republicans would rather put defense first. They have joined President Bush in calling on Senate Democrats to move this year's Defense Appropriation bill before any of the other 12 appropriations bills are considered. In at least six speeches over the last two months, President Bush has made the case for early action on the defense bill, especially during this time of war. And Senate Republicans stand behind the Commander-in-Chief, having sent a letter to Senator Daschle on March 19, 2002, echoing the President's request [see attached letter].
Thus far, no commitment has come from the Democrat majority. Recent signals, however, point to a repeat of last year's scheme, with defense once again being pushed to the end of the line. Such delay sends the wrong message at the wrong time.
Why Defense First?
It should go without saying that our military's funding and support should be our nation's top priority in time of war. Yet last year, Senate Democrats decided that additional funding for what they deemed necessary for "homeland security" was more important than timely funding our military as it fought the war on terrorism. The additional funding Democrats fought for (they initially sought $15 billion and then halved that amount) was over and beyond $40 billion already allocated in the wake of September 11th -- and it broke an agreed-upon spending ceiling, which spurred a vow from the President to veto the bill if such funding was included.
As Congress Daily described it:
"Senate Majority Leader Daschle and Appropriations Chairman Byrd appear to be setting up a game of political chicken over the $7.5 billion homeland security spending package they now plan to attach to the FY02 Defense appropriations bill. . . . Byrd announced Wednesday he would add the extra $7.5 billion to the Defense bill, which is already carrying a $20 billion anti-terrorism supplemental, at the markup next week" [11/29/01].
No Reason to Delay
Last year's Defense Appropriation bill finally passed the Senate on December 20, 2001 -- 81 days after the October 1 fiscal year deadline for passage of yearly funding bills, and 73 days after the United States had begun military operations in Afghanistan.
The Republicans' call to move the defense funding bill first is an attempt to preclude a repeat of last year's scenario. The clock is ticking. Less than 80 scheduled work days in the Senate remain before the end of the fiscal year. This year the Senate should pass the Defense Appropriation bill first, not last. It is the right thing to do for our soldiers, for our citizens, and for our country.
Select Quotes From President George Bush on Defense Spending First
"I have submitted a budget to the United States Congress which makes a priority of national defense. . . . In times of war, I ought to have the defense appropriations bill on my desk as soon as possible. We don't need any people playing politics with the defense of the United States of America." [Albuquerque, 4/29/02]
"And so I urge Congress to get moving on the appropriations process, particularly when it comes to the Defense bill. Generally, here in Washington, they wait and put the Defense bill out last. . . . It seems to me, if we're at war -- and we are at war -- that they ought to get the Defense Appropriations bill out first and not play games with the Defense Appropriations [bill]. And so I'm asking Congress to do that. I've made this clear to the leadership. I had a breakfast, they seemed to be very responsive, and now it's time for the appropriators to act." [Washington, D.C., 4/16/02]
". . . And my call to the Congress is that, instead of passing the defense budget last, like they always try to do, let's pass it first. Let's get it done. Let's make sure our troops understand they're going to have the best equipment, the best training and the best pay possible early in the budget cycle, not late." [Old Greenwich, Connecticut, 4/9/02]
"And so not only do I expect Congress to support our military and pass this budget, I expect them to do it early rather than late. The history of the United States Congress is such that they hold back the defense appropriations bill to the last minute. That's bad policy. It's bad policy in times of peace, and it's terrible policy in times of war. I expect and hope the first appropriation bill to my desk is to fund the United States military." [St. Louis, 3/18/02]
". . . But now's not the time to be playing politics with the military budget. They [Congress] need to get it to my desk early. Generally the defense appropriations [bill] is the last one to the president's desk. It ought to be the first one this year." [O'Fallon, Missouri, 3/18/02]
". . . Oftentimes Congress waits until the last days of the fiscal year in order to pass the defense budget. That's bad budgeting practice in times of peace. It's really bad budgeting practice in times of war. I expect the United States Congress to not only pass the budget as I submitted, I expect them to make it the first order of business, so we can plan for this war." [Fayetteville, North Carolina, 3/15/02]
Attachment: Letter to Majority Leader Daschle
UNITED STATES SENATE
OFFICE OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADER WASHINGTON, DC 20510-7010
March 19, 2002
Honorable Tom Daschle
Office of the Majority Leader
S-221, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510Dear Tom:
On Friday, the President issued a clear call for the Congress to act on the Defense Appropriations bill as the first order of business when we began consideration of next fiscal year's spending bills.
We applaud the President's commanding leadership of our Nation's war on terrorism and we support his request that we put defense first during the time of war. We believe that such an action will send a strong signal to a watching world that as a Nation we remain determined in our resolve to make America secure.
Our men and women in the military are putting our Nation first by risking and sacrificing their lives to defend our liberties. We believe that as a Congress we should demonstrate that we are equally committed to them by providing the resources our military needs to successfully prosecute the war.
It is imperative that we demonstrate our support for our Commander-in-Chief and for our military at this time. We strongly believe that the Senate should consider the Defense Appropriations bill first when we begin deliberation of the annual appropriations bills, and we respectfully request that you schedule it accordingly.
Sincerely,
Ted Stevens Trent Lott
John Warner Don Nickles
Pete Domenici Chuck Hagel
Arlen Specter
Olympia Snowe Kit Bond
Gordon Smith Wayne Allard
Phil Gramm Chuck Grassley
John Ensign Mike Crapo
Larry E. Craig Jon Kyl
Fred Thompson John McCain
Mike DeWine Thad Cochran
Jesse Helms Mitch McConnell
Kay Bailey Hutchison George Allen
Jim Bunning Susan Collins
Frank H. Murkowski Conrad Burns
James Inhofe Craig Thomas
Richard G. Lugar Rick Santorum
Ben Nighthorse Campbell Bob Bennett
Michael Enzi Orrin Hatch
Bob Smith Jeff Sessions
Bill Frist Sam Brownback
Peter Fitzgerald Pat Roberts
Richard Shelby Strom Thurmond
Tim Hutchinson Judd Gregg
George V. Voinovich
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