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Article: Debatable, but not debated: military spending.(U.S. 1997 defense budget)
- Article from:
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Article date:
- July 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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This year's fight over the level of military spending was lost before it began. President Bill Clinton's $254.4 billion request continued the downward trend in military spending, but Defense Secretary William Perry couldn't resist adding new purchasing power to the tune of $4.3 billion for fiscal 1997 and $30.5 billion over six years-courtesy of lower-than-expected inflation rates. The Republicans pocketed this concession and kept piling on.
Last year Republicans succeeded in adding $7 billion to Clinton's military budget, even as they hacked away at the rest of government. In December, the president reluctantly accepted the increase in order to win congressional ...