President Clinton signed into law Wednesday the fiscal year 2001 Defense appropriations bill, which includes a 3.7 percent pay raise for service members and funding for new military health benefits.
The $288 billion conference committee report, which breezed through the House (367-58) and Senate (91-9) prior to the legislative recess in July, provides an increase of $18.2 billion over the current fiscal year defense appropriation and nearly $3.3 billion more than was budgeted for defense by the President.
Sens. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and John McCain, R-Ariz., had attempted to block consideration of the report over concerns about the use of supplemental funds to meet the terms of budget resolutions passed earlier this year. The two, who were among the nine Senate dissenters, also said the bill contained excessive pork-barrel spending.
The budget includes a new pharmacy benefit for retired military personnel eligible for Medicare, even as Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on how to extend a similar benefit to all seniors. Active-duty soldiers will also see their care improve, as part of an overall $12.1 billion increase in military health spending.
Appropriators also addressed the pressing issue of compensation, in the wake of widespread reports that thousands of enlisted men and women with families were eligible for food stamps. A 3.7 percent increase in military salaries and a new debit card plan recently proposed by Defense Secretary William Cohen are expected to address the matter.
In signing the bill, Clinton expressed support for these measures but stopped short of a full endorsement.
"Unfortunately, H.R. 4576 goes beyond what is necessary, providing funding for a host of unrequested programs at the expense of other core government activities," said Clinton. He said he was "disappointed that the Congress has funded fiscal year 2001 activities through fiscal year 2000 emergency funds-an approach that should not be repeated."
The Defense measure is only the second of the 13 annual bills that fund government operations to become law.
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