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White House Proposes Reduced Missile Defense Funding
In its fiscal 2006 budget request submitted yesterday, the Bush administration called for cutting missile defense spending by $5 billion over the next six years, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Feb. 7). The White House has requested $7.8 billion for the Missile Defense Agency in fiscal 2006, down from the $8.8 billion the agency received this year. The White House budget request would also reduce the agency budget by $800 million a year for the subsequent five years, according to AFP. Among the projects most affected by the proposed budget cuts is the sea-based Kinetic Energy Interceptor, which is intended to intercept an enemy ballistic missile in its boost phase. The Missile Defense Agency proposed cutting the project’s funding by $800 million in fiscal 2006 and to reduce funding through at least 2008, a senior agency official said. The proposed budget reductions do not indicate a drop in support for missile defense by the Bush administration, the senior official said. “We have no indication of that, and we’ll just make do with the dollars that are provided,” the official said. “This program has been treated very well over the last several years by the president, the secretary of defense and certainly by the Congress and I see no reason why that support will diminish” (Jim Mannion, Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, Feb. 7).
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