7 B-1s, 2 A-carriers OK'd by Senate defense panel

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a $180.2 billion weapons program. Although it cut $3.2 billion from President Reagan's requested military manpower authorization bill, the panel approved nearly $4.6 billion for the first seven B-1 bombers, $6.79 billion for two new Nimitz-class nuclear carriers , and money for the reactivation of two battleships.

But the committee blocked interim deployment of the first 40 MX missiles, cutting $2.1 billion for research and deployment of the first nine missiles in existing silos. In addition, the active personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force were cut by 10,500, to 2,137,100.

In a move certain to spark debate on the Senate floor, the committee also approved $54 million requested by the administration for producing binary chemical weapons.