The administration's budget request for fiscal year 1988 would bring to 72 percent the share of federal research dollars earmarked for defense-related programs. But a roughly three-fourths portion for military R&D is historically anomalous: from 1965 to 1980, the federal pie for R&D was divided about equally between defense and civilian programs.
In 1981 federal spending for civilian R&D amounted to $15.3 billion while military R&D received $17 billion. In the administration's 1988 request, however, civilian R&D would receive $18 billion and military R&D would total $46 billion—a nearly three-fold increase from the 1981 level. With respect to last year's budget, the 1988 request represents a 16.8 percent increase for military R&D but only a 2.8 percent increase for civilian R&D.
During the current appropriations process, the Congress will rechannel some funds from the defense to the civilian sector, as it has in the past. In particular, the administration's $5.7 ...
