European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes sunday november 24, 1991 at a glance White House chief of Staft John h. Sununu said president Bush was responsible for the remark about credit card interest rates that sent the Stock Market skidding recently. See Story on Page 7.judge rules against a a Federal judge ruled that the department of veterans affairs May not use a civil War Era Law to prevent Quot atomic veterans Quot from hiring lawyers to seek medical benefits for cancer. A Page 4dod language a Honoreda the defense department won the annual Doublespeak award of the National conference of teachers of English for such euphemisms As Quot servicing the target Quot bombing and Quot Force packages Quot warplanes. A Page 5cashing in on Juk unresolved questions surrounding the assassination of president Kennedy translate into Money for authors tour guides and even trading card manufacturers. A Page 6thatcher miffed former prime minister Margaret Thatcher said the government of her successor was arrogant and wrong to deny her Call for a British referendum on european Community plans for a single currency. A Page 9human error suspected human error May have led to an Apache helicopter crash in Southern Germany last year that killed its 11th aviation brigade Crew a recently released report suggests. A Page 10 Index Abby Ann Landers. 14 commentary. 13 faces a no places. 14 letters. 12 Money matters. 15 Mutual. 16-17 sports. 18-24 weather. 11 Congress oks defense budget but spending on b-2 is curbed Washington a Congress gave final approval Friday to a $291 billion defense Bill for 1992 that denies the Bush administrations request for four More b-2 stealth bombers while boosting spending on anti missile defences. The measure was sent to president Bush for his signature. The legislation lays out defense programs for the fiscal year that started oct. 1 a separate Bill actually providing the Money has passed the House and is awaiting Senate approval. Following the experience of the War with Iraq the measure would also lift a Legal ban on the assignment of women to combat aircraft by the Navy Marine corps and air Force. A commission will study the question of women in combat and Bush will be required to make a recommendation by dec. 15,1992. In addition the legislation also reduces the size of the military by 106,000 Active troops to 1.88 million men and women. All members of the military would get a 4.2 percent pay raise on Jan. 1. The Senate on Friday morning approved the measure 79-15. Bush is expected to sign it into Law. On monday the House approved the Bill by a vote of 32982. Senate critics mostly liberals contended in debate thursday that with growing Federal deficits and decreasing International tensions military spending should have been curbed further. Budget committee chairman James Sasser d-tenn., said proof of the excess spending was an earlier proposal to Transfer $1 billion from the military budget to humanitarian Aid for the soviet Union. That plan was abandoned due to rank and file opposition. A is it available for deficit reduction a Sasser asked of the $1 billion. A education health care growth crime prevention Why of course not. It is Back in the military  Bush had requested $4.8 billion to continue building the b-2, a radar evading bomber that at $865 million per plane is the most expensive aircraft Ever built. The air Force wants 75 of them and 15 have already been approved. But Congress decided to limit Bush to $4.4 billion $1.8 billion to keep production lines open $1.6 billion for continued research and development and $1 billion for one new b-2 bomber. For that plane to be purchased the Pentagon would have to certify the b-2�?Ts numerous problems have been solved and the House and Senate would have to vote approval again next year. The House opposes further production. But those restrictions were not enough for critics. Sen. Patrick Leahy d-vt., predicted the air Force would somehow manage to keep alive what should be an obsolete aircraft. A this plane designed to elude soviet radar and deliver nuclear weapons to downtown Moscow does no to even have a Mission any More a Leahy said. The measure authorizes $4.15 billion for the anti missile strategic defense initiative a nearly 30 percent jump Over this years  from Page 1 Picanes Hugo and Bob represented a True emergency. Byrd said he planned to Knock most of the new big spending items out of the Bill in negotiations with key House and White House officials this week. A the president is going to veto it anyway a he predicted. The abortion measure is aimed at reversing a 1988 decision by the Pentagon that began disallowing abortions at hospitals on . Bases overseas. It added one More obstacle to passage of the omnibus spending Bill. The House last month saddled the Bill with $3.6 billion in More spending than Bush sought. The Senate weighted it Down further on Friday by attaching the abortion measure on a 57-40 vote. Senators earlier rejected 51-47, an Effort to Load the Bill with higher Price supports for hard pressed Dairy Farmers. The move would have increased milk prices for Consumers by up to 18 cents a gallon. Many of the emergency Bill features including a $1.4 billion increase in head Start and other children a programs added by the House have prompted veto threats from the White House and Are not expected to become Law. Most of the major year end items left unresolved were negotiated off the House and Senate floors. Bar gainers for the two houses were struggling to sort out their differences on a crime Bill possibly including a waiting period for handguns and on a $151 billion Highway measure. Also unresolved were rival versions of banking legislation designed to Shore up the fund that insures Bank deposits. The Senate measure called for allowing interstate banking As Well and a Cap on credit card interest rates that seemed unlikely to survive. With weekend sessions a near certainty in the Rush toward a hoped for adjournment by wednesday lawmakers in both Chambers struggled to finish work on essential legislation. Among key developments Friday were a legislation to give 11 percent boosts to government health research and to Federal Aid for school districts with Large numbers of Low income students was approved by both the House and Senate and sent to president Bush. The $205 billion spending Bill was reworked after Bush vetoed an earlier version because it would have lifted restrictions on abortion counselling at federally funded clinics. A Congress gave final approval to a $291 billion military budget that would stall the b-2 stealth bomber program but keep Money flowing for nuclear missiles submarines and other arms designed for cold War threats. A the House was poised to give final approval to legislation to ensure that people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits get no fewer than 13 weeks of additional unemployment checks beyond their Basic Benefit package. A the Senate refused to shut off a Republican filibuster of efforts to finance an investigation into allegations that the 1980 Reagan Bush Campaign made a Deal with Iran to delay release of american hostages until after the election. The largely party line vote was 51-43, nine Short of the 60 that democrats needed to shut off a filibuster. A a Bill authorizing full funding of $2 billion a year in funding for nasal a space station Freedom for the next three years was approved by the Senate on a voice vote Ana sent to Bush. The Bill was approved by the House two weeks ago. Bush originally had sought Only about $3.9 billion in the emergency spending Bill a and most of that to pay leftover costs from the persian Gulf War and disaster assistance for victims of earthquakes fires and hurricanes. But the House voted to increase spending on the head Start pre school program the supplemental food program for poor women infants and children and for childhood immunizations. The House also added $250 million for victims of wildfires last month in Oakland calif., and other areas plus $1.8 billion for Farmers to help cover an estimated $3 billion in crop losses to droughts freezes and heavy Rains in 1990 and 1991.galvin from Page 1 Europe the Middle East and elsewhere. Galvin said he would be Able to trim command groups in natos european area and the number of personnel in the units. With fewer soldiers in Europe smaller command units would be needed. The United states plans to halve its Europe based Force to about 150,000 troops by the mid-1990s. Galvin said he also would recommend a Cut of about 30 percent in costs for infrastructure projects such As extending runways building air base aprons or upgrading pipelines. No Overall figures were available. Moreover he said he planned to pare the number of military and civilian positions at his Headquarters by 5 percent from about 2,700. The Cut would follow an equal reduction imposed last year. He said the defense ministers who will meet in Brussels in Early december will also flesh out details of natos new troop Structure for the mid-1990s. The Centrepiece is a rapid reaction Force that can be sent to trouble spots anywhere on Alliance territory. Main defense forces and reinforcements also will make up the new arrangement. Galvin said the ministers will be asked to approve plans to give Britain Overall command of the Quick response unit and put Germany in charge of the air component. The general also he said the drive by the european Community to fashion a defense role should be compatible with nato. The 12-nation trading bloc a 11 of its members belong to nato a Are negotiating a plan for a political Union of the nations with a common foreign Security and maybe defense policy. A Onato solidly supports the move of Europe toward Unity a Galvin said. A if the dec feels it needs a Security and de sense identity. Then i done to think you la find anybody trying to Block  the Community appears ready to strengthen the Western european Union a nine nation Security grouping possibly turning it into the defense Arm of the new political Union. Galvin said the we a bought to retain ties to nato and not be something that pulls away. But in fact reinforces the concept of nato and provides additional  Britain and Italy have suggested the West europeans set up a rapid reaction Force for crises outside nato. France supported by Germany has pressed for what could eventually become an Independent european army. Galvin said any forces used by the europeans should be linked to the Alliance. A a in a not sure the nations in this austere time have the capability of building a second Force a keeping one for Nail and one for something else a he said. A whatever we do politically has to make military sense