Budget Experts Highlight Congressional Add-Ons to Annual Pentagon Spending Bill

Washington D.C. - The Center for Defense Information (CDI), a non-profit research organization that specializes in military budget and planning issues, today released its list of Pentagon weapons and programs funded by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and already passed by the House of Representatives which were not requested by the military. In its study, CDI identified over $3 billion in unrequested funding added to the FY 2000 Defense Appropriations Bill.

"Congress has repeatedly pointed to the need to recruit and retain quality personnel and insure the readiness of our armed forces as justification for increased military spending," said former Senator Dale Bumpers, now the Director of the Center for Defense Information, "and these are important goals. But when it comes to actual spending, Congress' real priorities seem to be elsewhere."

The CDI study lists nearly $3 billion in unrequested spending added by either the House or Senate to the annual spending package. In addition, CDI identifies over one-half billion dollars in new spending that was added by the Conferees.

"Congress decided to declare $7 billion worth of routine spending in this year's appropriations bill as 'emergency' funding in order to avoid going above authorized levels," said Christopher Hellman, CDI's Budget Analyst. "Yet they were willing to spend half of that on projects the Pentagon didn't request. That's hardly what I'd call being fiscally responsible."

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For additional information, see CDI's factsheet "Fiscal Year 2000 Add-Ons: Congress' Unrequested Spending for the Pentagon," at http://www.cdi.org/issues/budget/add-ons00.html, or call Chris Hellman at (202) 332-0600 for a faxed copy.