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| Saturday, 11 May 2002 |
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Senate moves to cut Bush's missile defence program WASHINGTON, Friday (Reuters) A U.S. Senate panel moved to cut about $1 billion from President George W. Bush's missile-defense program as it put off a dispute on the $11 billion Crusader artillery system that the Pentagon has vowed to kill over the objections of many lawmakers. With Bush threatening to veto legislation that blocks cancellation of the 40-tonne gun that the Pentagon has deemed too cumbersome, Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin said the panel postponed a decision on whether to try to save it until after a committee hearing next Thursday. But the Michigan Democrat said the panel, which completed its plan for a roughly $390 billion defense bill behind closed doors, moved to cut some $1 billion from Bush's request for $7.8 billion to develop a system to intercept missiles. Most of that was shifted to shipbuilding, he said, and some went to tighten security at nuclear facilities and other uses. Levin, who spoke to reporters after the panel finished the bill, said he will offer details of it on Friday. The issue pits Bush against lawmakers from Oklahoma and Minnesota, where much of it would be built, as well as some defense hawks who view the big cannon as a key weapon system. Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, pushed the committee to to save the 155mm self-propelled howitzer. But other lawmakers have said that backing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's decision is crucial to weed out other low-performing weapon systems. Immediately after Rumsfeld announced on Wednesday that he was cutting the Crusader, Levin and Sen. John Warner of Virginia, the committee's senior Republican, set a hearing on it for next Thursday and invited Rumsfeld to appear. "An effort was made to say they could not cancel at this time, and we said that we don't want to prejudge the hearing that is coming," Levin said. "I am working to rally support for Crusader and plan to continue this fight through every step of the legislative process," Inhofe said in a statement, adding that it was not just about jobs but also "about our commitment to support what our ground troops, our war fighters, need to do the job." The Senate bill includes the $475 million the administration asked for
in February to continue the gun's development, Levin said. |
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