Big budget pricey but necessary

After more than a decade of neglect and the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, America's national security is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Bush Administration's 2003 budget request, which was presented to congress earlier this month, contains the largest single increase in defense spending in 20 years. To accommodate the change, all non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary spending will essentially be pegged to inflation. National security doesn't come cheap, but as the events of Sept. 11 have shown us, it's worth every penny.\nDespite its $379 billion dollar price tag, the Department of Defense's wartime budget is only 3.3 percent of America's gross domestic product. Given that the United States spent closer to 5 percent of its gross domestic product on military needs during the post-Vietnam era of the late 1970s, everything included in today's budget comes at a relative bargain.\nIn addition to providing funding to cover the costs of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the president's proposed budget would also fund a number of preventive operations to reduce the risk of conflict in the future. In particular, $3.5 billion would be allocated to aid countries fighting terrorism abroad. Of such funds, $121 million would be used to expand anti-terrorism and security training for other countries and $1.5 billion would be earmarked to expand efforts to reduce the proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons systems.\nA portion of the 2003 budget would also be invested in the development of new technology and intelligence enhancements. Programs to further develop the kind of unmanned aerial technology that has already proven to be successful in Afghanistan would see a $146-million increase. An additional $1.2 billion would be allocated to further develop precision weapons designed to improve accuracy and minimize collateral damage on the battlefield. Further funding would go to improve the technology necessary to bring the president's proposed missile defense system online as soon as possible. \nIn an effort to prevent domestic terrorism on the scale that we saw Sept. 11, $37.7 billion would be used to shore up homeland defense. The new budget would more than double the spending level for this year. Most of the funds would be diverted to agencies charged with securing our borders. \nThe Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was clearly one of the most underprepared federal agencies last September, would receive a $1.2-billion budget increase from last year. The increase will allow the agency to double the ranks of its border patrol agents and develop a new $350-million computer program to track the entry and exit of the millions of non-citizens that enter the United States each year. The lack of such technology, it is believed, was what allowed a number of the al Qaeda terrorists to remain in the United States on expired visas prior to carrying out their mission.\nThe Customs Service and the U.S. Coast Guard would also be the beneficiaries of funding increases. The Customs Service would receive $619 million to increase its staff and upgrade equipment, while the Coast Guard would be directed to use its $282-million increase to develop new technology to secure our nation's harbors. \nThe primary function of government should always be to ensure the safety of its citizens. The Bush Administration's 2003 budget request is evidence that it is committed to doing just that. Without security, every other function of government is irrelevant. The changes that the president has proposed will require us all to make sacrifices, but we've already seen the alternative.