
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 15, 1993                   TAG: 9309150075
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SENATE OKS BUDGET FOR MILITARY

The Senate approved a $261 billion defense budget Tuesday that toughens President Clinton's policy on homosexuals in the military and bolsters communities buffeted by spending cuts in the post-Cold War world.

The legislation preserves several major weapons, including Navy destroyers and Trident submarine missiles.

Reflecting frustration with U.S. foreign policy, the package also urges Clinton to seek congressional approval for continued U.S. military involvement in what many fear is an open-ended operation in Somalia.

By a vote of 92-7 Tuesday, lawmakers approved the spending blueprint for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, a package that is $14 billion less than this year's.

Defense Secretary Les Aspin acknowledged his planning still falls $13 billion short of the cuts sought by President Clinton from fiscal 1995 through 1999. He told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee that he believes the goal of cutting $104 billion from the $1.3 trillion that President Bush envisioned for defense in those years can be met.

- Associated Press

by CNB