STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- <A HREF="aol://4344:30.L100cuu6.5258030.679775605"> 07/16: AOL News: Rumsfeld vows to turn 'waste into weapons'</A> Rumsfeld vows to turn 'waste into weapons' By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Congress Monday to back reductions in Pentagon waste and inefficiency, saying he could not assure taxpayers the military was spending their money wisely. Rumsfeld, who proposed last month adding $18.4 billion to the fiscal 2002 defense budget for a total of $329 billion, said the Pentagon needed to find more savings to pay for a bigger boost in spending next year even without the upgrades expected in an ongoing top-to-bottom military review. Rumsfeld said he would feel better about asking for more money "if I can tell you we are treating taxpayers' money responsibly, and today we are not," he told a House Appropriations subcommittee. "We'll need Congress to give us greater freedom to achieve cost savings," Rumsfeld said. "We simply have got to turn waste into weapons." He repeated earlier remarks the Pentagon would ask Congress for another round of politically unpopular base closings to save money, and warned lawmakers that rejection of his proposal to reduce the B-1 bomber fleet would send the wrong message. The Air Force has proposed cutting the B-1 bomber fleet to 60 planes from the current 93, for a saving of $165 million in 2002. Those funds would go back to the Air Force to upgrade the remaining B-1 bomber fleet. JOBS AT STAKE Lawmakers from Georgia, Kansas and Idaho have vowed to fight that proposal because it would eliminate about 1,000 jobs in all from Air National Guard bases in their states. "The failure of this proposal would send a harmful signal across the defense establishment that if they step forward to find innovative ways to save money and increase efficiency, it will be a waste of time and work," he said. Rumsfeld said base closings, an unpopular issue with lawmakers who want to protect facilities and jobs in their home districts, were needed to help pay for military upgrades. A 1998 study showed the military could cut 23 percent of its base capacity. The last base-closings round was carried out in 1995, but Congress refused later Pentagon requests for more closings because Republicans said former President Bill Clinton had injected politics into the process. The budget plan also includes the Air Force's retirement of 50 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles, also known as the MX, each of which can carry nuclear warheads. "These are important first steps, but the department needs even greater freedom," Rumsfeld said. Rep. Norm Dicks, a Washington Democrat, said the fiscal 2002 budget increase for the military was not large enough, and charged the Bush administration had not followed through with its campaign pledge to troops that "help is on the way." "I thought we were going to see something significant," he said. Rumsfeld said the boost was significant but that future increases would also be needed. The budget will have to rise by $18 billion next year just to sustain programs at current levels, even before the modernization efforts are considered. "There is no way we're going to get out of this hole in one year," Rumsfeld said. The hearing on the 2002 defense budget touched only briefly on the Bush administration's plans for a limited national missile defense system. Rumsfeld said the $8 billion in the budget for missile defense was a small portion of the overall defense budget and would not pay for deployment, focusing instead on research, testing and development. He said the administration would hold talks with Russian officials to develop a new strategic framework that does not violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the former Soviet Union. "The United States has not made a practice of violating treaties and we certainly don't intend to here," he said. 14:32 07-16-01 Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
