Friday, 8 May 1992 Washington, DC
1. RESCISSION RIOT BREAKS OUT IN CONGRESS, SENATE BILL LOOTS
NSF.
The unrest began with messages from President Bush
calling for Congress to rescind $7.8B in "pork barrel" spending.
Rescission would require unobligated funds to be returned to the
treasury. The projects on the President's list ranged all the
way from two Sea Wolf submarines at $2.8B to celery research at
$39,000. But the selective White House list of "pork" includes
anything that the Administration did not request--not just
earmarks inserted by individual members of Congress for projects
in their districts. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a substitute
bill offered by Sen. Byrd (D-WV), Chair of the Appropriations
Committee, that would save more money than the President's bill,
but the list was very different. The Senate bill leaves the Sea
Wolves alone and cuts the B-2 bomber and SDI instead. It also
rescinds funds for 31 NSF research grants that had been awarded
competitively; the grants had titles like "Monogamy and
aggression" and "Sexual mimicry in swallowtail butterflies."
Congress second guessing peer review decisions may be a greater
threat to the integrity of science than earmarking. The Senate
bill will be reconciled with the House version next week. It
will then be vetoed. While Congress and the White House bicker
over whether to cut research on celery or swallowtail
butterflies, the deficit rages out of control.
2. HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE EXPECTS BIG TURNOVER NEXT
YEAR.
The chair, Jamie Whitten (D-MS), at 82 is in poor
health. Of the 55 House members planning retirement, 13 are on
Appropriations.
3. APS COUNCIL CALLS FOR RELEASE OF IMPRISONED CHINESE
PHYSICISTS
in a statement adopted at its 25 April meeting in
Washington. The harsh treatment of Chinese scientists and
students arrested for non-violent expression of their political
opinions has continued for three years. The Council called on
Chinese authorities to permit the scientists to resume their
study and research. The APS has not let up in its criticism of
human rights abuses by the Chinese government since the bloody
suppression of the 4 June 89 demonstration in Beijing. The
Council also affirmed the position of the APS that all
international scientific meetings should be free of political
conditions on participation. A Chinese official recently stated
that overseas Chinese would be welcome to attend the
International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors,
scheduled for Beijing in August--provided they ended activities
opposing the PRC government. The APS itself has declined to co-
sponsor any conferences in China since the events of June 89. In
the meantime, there are rumors that the Chinese government is
preparing to release some political prisoners later this month.
4. CITATION CORRECTION: THE BIBLICAL PASSAGE ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN
last week was actually from Acts of the Apostles. We
are chagrin-ed, but grateful to the many readers who pointed this
out; after all, "Rebuke a wise man and he will love thee."
Proverbs 9:8.
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