By Warren Langley

The dollar figures in the Federal budget are so big with so many 0ís that we humans find it difficult to comprehend what they really mean. But if the American economy is going to continue as the worldís strongest, we must come to grips with these figures and tell Congress our concerns. And we have to do it now!

Take the biggest piece of the pie, the $504 billion defense budget. How much is $504 billion in terms that you and I can understand? Itís over half of the congressional discretionary budget, which is the only money Congress can vote to spend on programs that matter to each of us.

Another approach is to compare it to something specific like the Environmental Protection Agency budget, which contains $8 billion, or about 1.6 percent of the Pentagon budget. And the Pentagon budget doesnít include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Theyíre funded by "supplemental" or "over and above normal" appropriations.

You donít have to be a businessperson to know that of the $504 billion, there is a large amount wasted on things that donít add to our real security.

As Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan tells us, at least $60 billion annually is spent on obsolete Cold War weapons and programs that do nothing for our current security needs.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) recently introduced a bill that puts this $60 billion figure into perspective. Woolseyís proposed legislation, the Common Sense Budget Act, would invest that $60 billion in programs that will begin to protect Americaís economy, shore up our broader security interests, and invest in human capital, all vital to our childrenís and grand childrenís future.

The legislation would invest $10 billion annually to bring Americaís public school buildings up to modern standards. This investment will pay huge dividends for our next generation of workers, who need the best education to compete with workers abroad. It also puts $10 billion annually into renewable energy research, a five-fold increase over the current $2 billion expenditure, and a sufficient amount to put us on the road to cutting energy use in half in 10 years. From a long-term business perspective, thereís no better investment than renewable energy. The economy with the most stable and efficient supply will clearly have an advantage in the years ahead, and we wonít have to spend tax dollars to "protect" fossil fuel access as we are now doing in the Middle East.

The Common Sense Budget Act also invests in job training, childrenís health insurance, and veterans health care, all of which make us stronger as a nation. And under the Common Sense Budget Act all of these investments are paid for by funds that would have been wasted by the Pentagon, so no tax increase is necessary. It is a realignment of our priorities and a reallocation of funds by Congressñ-which is its job. Why isnít this legislation sailing through Congress?

It is because the military industrial complex, the most effective lobby since President Dwight Eisenhower named it in 1958, continues to influence politicians to send money its way, instead of to those things in which we really need to invest.

Defense contractor lobbyists, as well as lawmakers addicted to wasteful defense jobs in their districts, are in no mood to cut a Pentagon program, even if itís something like the F-22 fighter jet that, according to Korb, is ideal for battling the collapsed Soviet Union but has no military use today.

With so many special interests standing behind these Pentagon white elephants, a real debate about whether it makes sense to continue funding them rarely gets off the ground in Washington, D.C. Thatís why we have to force our congress members and senators to take up this debate and pay attention to our nationís real needs.

We have to leapfrog over the lobbyists and demand that our elected representatives cure the spending mess at the Pentagon and take up the priorities listed in the Common Sense Budget Act. They owe it to us and we owe it to future generations, who will have to pay the price of our unwillingness to take action now.

Warren Langley is the board chairman of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities ñ an organization of over 700 leading businesspeople who advocate trimming wasteful spending from the Pentagon budget and investing it in Americaís broader national security needs, like education, health care, and job training. For more information, go to www.sensiblepriorities.org