President Bush's proposed $379 billion defense budget, the largest since 1981, is expected to face largely smooth sailing as Congress rallies around a military at war.
But defence hawks in Congress yesterday complained that the increases in Mr Bush's defence budget should be even higher.
The spending plan shortchanged the US Navy by not providing enough money for new ships and actually cut funds for needed military construction projects, among other failings, members of the House Armed Services Committee told Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld at a budget hearing.
California Republican Mr Duncan Hunter praised Mr Bush and Mr Rumsfeld for moving in the right direction by boosting defense spending by 12 per cent next year after inflation.
But he said: "Still, I think we need to spend more. I would like to see this five-year plan go up and certainly not down, so more aircraft and other weapons can be purchased".
Other committee members argued the Pentagon's anticipated purchase levels of new ships put the nation's shipbuilding industry at risk.
The request devotes $29 billion to Mr Bush's war on terrorism and $9 billion to unconventional arms such as pilotless spy planes carrying missiles and laser communications systems for troops.