National Security Legislative Wrap-up

On February 4, the President sent the annual military budget to Congress. The budget totals $515.4 billion for Pentagon activities. However, adding funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (estimated by Defense Secretary Robert Gates at roughly $170 billion) plus the nuclear weapons portion of the Department of Energy budget, the total exceeds $700 billion. The Senate and House Budget Committees will take the first legislative action on the budget.

Some highlights of the request:
--This budget exceeds last years by 7.5%
--Total missile defense funding is $12.3 billion, including $720 million for the third missile defense site in Europe
--$414.1 million for Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction non-proliferation fund
--$30 million for the Reliable Replacement Warhead