Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-06-27
Hope Is Held
For Restoring
Defense Cuts
BY ROBERT X. WALSH
Star Staff Writer

The administration was given
a better than even chance to-
: day that the Senate will restore
some of the 1880. 1000, 900
, which the House cut in passing
a SAT billion defense bill.
The $47.O82. 100000 measure
approved by a 4l0-1 roll call
vote in the House late yester-
day was still the second larg-
est Defense Department peace
time appropriation bill in
history.
The House yesterday not only
approved more than 81 800, 000,-
: COO in Appropriations Commit
tee reductions from Defense De-
partment budget requests, but
also cut another $10.2 million.
No House member attempted to
put back any Of the funds
. previously trimmed by the COM
/. mittee.
Representative Curtis, Repub-
lican Of Missouri, cast the only
vote against the bill, he said,
. to dramatic his opposition to
deficit financing by the Gov
eminent. He did not take issue
: with the committees cuts or
the bills main provisions.
Even more emphatically than
in general debate last Tuesday.
. Representative Mahon, Demo-
crat of Texas, declared there
was mo foundation" for Sec
Rotary of Defense McNamara's
: warning that the money re-
: auctions would require a re-
: duction of military personnel.
Denies Troop Withdrawal
: Mr.. Mahon, Appropriation
> Committee manager Of the bill,
also denied unofficial reports
that $4,000 servicemen were to
be withdrawn soon from
(. Europe. He said that in future
Z years the number of Unite d
States troops abroad might be
: smaller but that the admins
tration and Defense Depart
!. ment are determined to main
tain adequate forces wherever
necessary.
The only money change voted
by the House in addition to &C.
cepting the committees recon-
.smended reductions was an
amendment chopping $10.2 mil
: lion from the Army's $2.9 bill
Lion for materials and equip
/. ment.
On motion of the committee
itself following disclosures
mainly by Representative VIII
son, Republican of Indiana, the
House unanimously adopted the
amendment because of the
Army's S10.2 million over-esti-
mate for purchasing radios.
Mr.. Mahon told the House
that the Army did an
atrocious job" in estimating the
radios would cost about $2,10O
inStead OF $685. each.
Z Raps PentagOn Purchasing
: This touched off sharp criti-
cism of Pentagon purchasing
methods and demands for
stricter competitive bidding re-
quire m ents. Representative
Laird, Republican of Wiscon-
sin, charged that the Army
"miSled" the House committee
and the Defense Department on
the radio purchasing item in
the bill He added that it would
be a good idea for the COM
mittee to require the Army to
come back for a review of all
its purchasing estimates.
A fight developed. as expected.
on the question Of how much
naval ship repair work should
go to Navy yards and to private
,shipyardS No attempt was
made, however, to change the
committee-proposed formula of
allotting IS per cent of such
funds to private yards and IS
per cent to Navy yards.
The controversial RF 70
manned bomber program, au-
.thorized by the House Armed
Services Committee but given
no more money in the appro-
priation bill, was defended by
several House members. Mr..
Mahon said he was assured by
the Pentagon that $3.50 million
in previously appropriated
money would be used for devel-
opment of three experimental
planes