Defense spending has fallen 35 percent since the mid-1980s, from $390 billion in 1985 to $252 billion in 1995 (in constant 1995 dollars). In just four years, 1990-94, it fell 25 percent, from $339 billion to $254 billion.

Defense Secretary William Perry acknowledged to Congress last November that one-third of the Army's divisions are not prepared to go to war. Yet, while the Pentagon was delaying or canceling modernization of weapons and equipment for budgetary reasons, spending on nonmilitary items in the defense budget rose 361 percent during 1990-94, from $3.6 billion to $13 billion.

• Between 1990 and 1993, $10.4 billion of the defense budget was allocated to such civilian activities as World Cup Soccer, the Summer Olympics and the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence.

• Spending for programs unrelated to "traditional military capabilities" rose by 238 percent over those three years, even as overall defense spending fell by almost 20 percent.

• In 1995, $11 billion in nonmilitary spending is allocated for Los Angeles youth programs, osteoporosis research and Native American environmental programs.

The Clinton administration's five-year budget for 1996-99 proposes more defense cuts, including canceling several major weapons systems. Military and independent analysts believe the proposed spending is inadequate to support the forces necessary to win two "nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts," the stated mission for the United States military.

Estimates of the additional funding needed for 1995-99 range from $49 billion, according to the Pentagon, to as high as $100 billion (Heritage Foundation) or $150 billion (General Accounting Office).

Source: John Luddy, "More Non-Defense Spending in the Defense Budget," Heritage Foundation F. Y. I., December 30, 1994, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002, (202) 546-4400.

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