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Show June 4, 1992 11 Hilltop Times Cheney warns against further budget cuts by TSgt. David P. Masko Air Force News Service - WASHINGTON In the latest round of military budget debates, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney again warned Congress against new defense cuts being discussed. "There are those in Congress and elsewhere who now propose reductions in the defense budget that are simply too steep and too dangerous," Cheney t 66 WWJ 99 Dick 10-ye- ar y y places limits on weapons modernization and force structure. In the past two years, for example, the Pentagon has been forced to terminate further production of more than 100 weapons and programs, including the Peacekeeper missiles. "Today, we face a fundamental choice," Cheney said. "We can make the investments required to maintain the strategic depth that we have won. Or, we can fail to secure these advanF-1- Cheney Secretary of Defense percent. Air Force manpower will shrink to 430,000 by 1997, 177,000 below 1987 when the Air Force had 607,000 on active duty. period, the During the same will lose the Navy 245,000, Army and the Marines 40,000. Over86,000 will lose 548,000 all, the military active-duttroops when the total base force of 1,626,000 is activated in 1997. Cheney already said he would be milforced to fire 300,000 active-dutitary people in one year, on top of the 236,000 slatec" to leave in 1992 and F-2- program. Still, the budget program for 1993 people who do not come home when it (a war) is over. In line with the new U.S. defense strategy to cut the armed forces by 25 For the 1993 budget, the Air Force adwants $2.2 billion for the 2 vanced tactical fighter, $2.9 billion for the 7 transport aircraft, $1.3 billion for the MILSTAR satellite program and $4 billion for the B-- 2 bomber C-1- When we think about the future ... if we cut defense irresponsibly ... there will be a lot more of our told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee May 21. "Their proposals would end up destroying the finest military force this nation has ever fielded." On the same day that Cheney appeared before the subcommittee, both the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution that drops defense spending by $3.6 billion. The president had requested $281 billion in defense budget authority for fiscal 1993, but at this point in its budget deliberations Congress approved only $277.4 billion. Cheney said he would not recommend a veto of the resolution, and that the Defense Department could live with it. However, he cautioned against more cuts, saying if Congress fails to fund training and a high quality force, the services will "outwardly look like a military, but simply will not function." x 1993, if defense spending goes any lower. The only way to get savings of the magnitude proposed by Congress is to cut manpower, because 46 percent of everything the Pentagon spends goes to personnel, he said. "When we think about the future and the budget debate on Capitol Hill in the months ahead, it is very important to remember that if we cut defense irresponsibly, if we do what we have done every time previously ... there will be a lot more of our people who do not come home when it (a war) is over," Cheney said. 5 tages, and eventually the threats will not be remote, they will not be vague, and we will not have the alliances and the capabilities to deal with them." Although budget officials said there are encouraging signs that Congress wants to move quickly in passing the defense budget, it may be late this year before both the House and Senate approve all parts of the Pentagon's spending plan. Last year, for instance, it was nearly Thanksgiving before Congress finally endorsed the 1992, $279 billion defense budget. mm 66TheWi Month of JUNE, 1992 Ikjaiiiarbmsize pepperom 0M great SUBWfaste, SLEEPING BAGS 9 Professionally Dry Cleaned v I- ML FINE DRY CLEANING SOUTH OGDEN DOWNTOWN 29th & 4305 Harrison Blvd. Washington 479-113- 394-264- 5 8 ROY NORTH OGDEN 2600 No. Washington 5366 So. 1900 W. 773-0- 782-656- 4 cheese -. 1 00 (Next to Harmon's) bologna L . Served with lettuce, tomato, pickle and seasoning mm Ptntod n U.S.A. ' kA,wJUUU 564 No. Main 774-868- 9 Clearfield liiLi4iii niMg.! r 4 V'W - ,. . 9 I 9 H W Hi mmm |