Russ Feingold: “here we go again. Late last week, senior Administration officials indicated that the Bush Administration plans to submit…”

“here we go again. Late last week, senior Administration officials indicated that the Bush Administration plans to submit to Congress, several months late, a budget request for the Department of Defense that increases the already bloated fiscal year 2001 spending level for that department by $18.4 billion. I find it interesting that the Administration has yet to provide the details of this request to the Congress, to the dismay of both parties, but that the dollar amount increase over last year's $310 billion appropriation is already being widely reported. This is in addition to the $6.5 billion supplemental appropriations request that the Senate may consider later this week, most of which is for the Department of Defense. Where will it end, Mr. President? While I commend Secretary Rumsfeld for undertaking a long-overdue comprehensive review of our military, I also urge him to consider carefully the impact that any proposed defense increases will have on the rest of the federal budget. We are already feeling the impact left by the $1.35 trillion tax cut that this Administration made its number one priority. That tax cut virtually ensures that there can be no defense increases without making deep cuts in other parts of the budget. And the top priorities of the American people, such as saving Social Security and Medicare and providing a Medicare prescription drug benefit, will be that much harder to accomplish.”