David Obey: “But I have to say that I think this bill ought to go down in its present form. I do not enjoy saying that. But the fact…”

“But I have to say that I think this bill ought to go down in its present form. I do not enjoy saying that. But the fact is this bill is $7 billion above the President's budget request. The main problem is that this bill cannot possibly result in a defense budget which will live within the budget limits established by the Kasich budget, which just passed this House just a few months ago. One of the best kept secrets in this town is that, while the defense bill this year spends more money than President Clinton wants to spend, in the outyears, the Kasich budget resolution calls for a lower defense number than the President's own budget provides. Yet, this bill is so loaded up with procurement items that it cannot possibly live below that ceiling in the outyears, if we do not make some major adjustments now. Just as a smattering of items, for instance, this bill has moved a good deal of money out of readiness and into procurement, including unnecessary purchases for B-2's, $500 million above the President's budget on star wars. We have additional C-130's.”