"My '03 budget calls for more than 48 billion dollars in new defense spending," Bush told the Officers Reserve Association annual conference.

Announcing what would be the largest increase in defense spending for 20 years, Bush said the extra funds would ensure the United States wins its war on terrorism.

"Those who review our budget must understand that we are asking a lot of our men and women in uniform and will be asking more of them in the future," the president said. "In return they deserve every resource and every weapon needed to achieve a final and full victory."

The new figure will marks a 15-percent increase in the 2002 US defense budget approved at 318 billion dollars.

Among the key appropriations in the supplement to the budget are weapons upgrades, homeland security and a pay raise for US troops, the president said ahead of his formal presentation of the budget set for February 4.

With his proposal, Bush is betting on support from Democrats in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the US-led war on terrorism, and mid-term congressional elections just around the corner.

Republicans and Democrats are due to face each other in November elections to renew the entire House of Representatives and one third of Senate seats.

While US Senate majority leader Tom Daschle said later Wednesday it was "too early to come to a conclusion of what the numbers should be," he noted Bush had failed to heed warnings about the 11-year 1.35 trillion dollar tax cut that some Democrats want to stall.

"We have said all along deficits would happen if we passed the tax cuts ... We told you so. It happened. It's there," Daschle said.

"I don't want to 'Enron' the people of the United States -- I don't want to destroy their social security system," he said in reference to the December bankruptcy of energy giant Enron, and the current state of the US economy, in recession since March.

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