US President George Bush has sent a $5.9 billion supplemental budget request to the US Congress to cover unexpected shortfalls in the fiscal year 2001 defence budget. Dov Zakheim, under secretary of defense (comptroller), says the supplemental covers only urgent priorities such as rising fuel costs, pay raises and repair of the USS Cole damaged in a terrorist bombing. It does not fund weapons programmes. An amendment to the FY02 budget request will be unveiled in July and will seek to boost national missile defence spending.
Source: Flight International
