Defense Spending Budget for the 2003 Fiscal Year
... At the beginning of January 2002, the Pentagon has aggressively sought for an increase of $20 billion or more for its 2003 budget (Dao). ... However, the request for a $20 billion increase in the Pentagon budget comes at a time of not only “economic downturn, when other federal agencies are being told to trim spending to balance declining tax revenues,” but also as “Congress is projecting a budget deficit [for the] next year” (Dao). For these reasons and several more, heavy skepticism has risen concerning the enormity of funds that will ultimately be transferred into the arms of the defense. Nevertheless, Republican and somewhat surprisingly Democratic support has been reasonably high in cooperation with a large expansion in military spending. This paper will provide a further summary of the recent events that have taken place concerning the defense-spending budget for the 2003 fiscal year, and an analysis of this issue concerning the American public today. ... Bush declared in a speech to the Reserve Officers Association that he “will ask Congress for the biggest increase in defense spending since President Ronald Reagan’s first term, vowing to spend whatever it costs to defeat terrorism around the world” (Allen). ... buying these tools may put a strain on the budget, but we will not cut corners when it comes to the defense of our great land” (Allen).