Friday, 2 October 1987 Washington, DCM
1.
THE NSF BUDGET MAY BE SAVED!
A faint pulse was detected
earlier in the week in the seemingly lifeless form of the plan to
double the budget of the NSF over the next few years. Only three
weeks ago we reported on the gloomy prospects for NSF in the
Senate as a result of maneuvering by Sen. Stennis (D-MS), the
Appropriations Chairman. On Monday, the HUD-Independent Agencies
Subcommittee, Chaired by William Proxmire (D-WI), recommended
freezing NSF at its current inadequate level and dropping the
Space Station. The session was marked by much hand-wringing as
one Senator after another deplored the sad plight of NSF --
except for Sen. D'Amato (R-NY), "the King of Pork," who used the
occasion to propose a floor amendment to provide $5M for a NY
water project. On Wednesday, however, word leaked out that $500M
in unspent funds had been found -- such small sums are easily
lost in a trillion-dollar budget. The voice of the science
community was heard. Last night the full Committee accepted an
amendment by Sen. Domenici (R-NM) restoring NSF to the full
amount of the President's request. It's not over yet! It goes
to the full Senate next week, and then to Conference with the
House, which approved a version $100M below the request.
2
. THE NSF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTERS
are one of the likely
casualties if the funds are not restored. On Tuesday, NSF
Director Erich Bloch met with a group of industrial research
leaders and a sprinkling of academic researchers to discuss his
plan for the Centers. Bloch refused to say where the cuts would
be made if the NSF does not get its requested increase, but he
indicated that the Centers would be a prime candidate. He also
acknowledged that peer review of individual grants is breaking
down because so few worthy proposals can be funded.
3. THE SOVIETS TODAY ANNOUNCED TWO NEW PARTICLE ACCELERATORS.
One will be a 6 TeV proton-proton fixed target machine of
conservative design, using 4 Tesla superconducting magnets. The
other will be 1 TeV electron-positron collider that seems to be
designed for future upgrade. Both Machines will be built at the
Soviet Union's high-energy research center at Serpukov. The
announcement seems certain to produce talk in Congress of an
"accelerator gap," and may convert some reluctant Congressmen.
4. TODAY IS THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE ABM TREATY
by the US Senate. The Senate took this historic step by
an 88-2 vote with the understanding that the treaty bans the
development and testing, as well as deployment, of space-based
ABM systems or components. Exactly 13 years later, the Reagan
Administration advanced a broad interpretation of the treaty to
permit development and testing based on "new physical
principles." At a AAAS Arms Control Symposium on Tuesday, Sidney
Graybeal, a key member of the ABM Treaty negotiating team,
insisted that the original "narrow" interpretation is correct.
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