Friday, 24 July 1992 Washington, DC
1. PHYSICISTS IN EUROPE, JAPAN AND CANADA OPPOSE SPACE
STATION!
In an unprecedented joint statement issued today,
the Presidents of a group of major scientific societies,
including The American Physical Society, fired a blast at Space
Station Freedom. That's hardly news; they do it every year. But
this time, the statement was accompanied by the translation of a
statement adopted by the German Physical Society. Like their
American colleagues, German physicists contend Space Station
Freedom cannot be justified on the basis of economics or science.
And it didn't stop with the Germans! The strongly worded German
statement was endorsed by the Executive Committee of the European
Physical Society, and by the Presidents of the Physical Society
of Japan, the Canadian Association of Physicists, and the
American Physical Society; Japan, Europe and Canada are
"partners" with the United States in the space station.
Meanwhile, at a Capitol Hill press conference, Rep. Howard Wolpe
(D-MI) released a letter signed by 75 of the most distinguished
American space scientists; their letter
contends the space station cannot be justified on the basis of
its scientific usefulness or its importance to space exploration.
2. BUT PROPONENTS OF THE SPACE STATION HAVE NOT BEEN IDLE
EITHER.
On Tuesday, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and
NIH Director Bernadine Healy signed a Memorandum of Understanding
Regarding Biomedical and Behavioral Research. The matchmakers
were none other than Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Jake Garn (R-
UT), the top space station tub thumpers in the Senate. The
agreement, which Mikulski hailed as "historic," is little more
than a pledge to cooperate, but it is meant to give credibility
to claims that space research will somehow lead to cures for
disease on Earth. At the Hill press conference, Rep. Durbin (D-
IL) commented that, "Cancer cures are the last refuge of
budgetary scoundrels."
3. SENATE COMMITTEE RESTORES $550M TO THE SUPERCOLLIDER IN FY
93!
The Appropriation Committee yesterday left untouched
that portion of a Subcommittee Report dealing with the SSC. The
report calls for $623M for high-energy physics, $7.5M less than
the Adminis-tration request. The Fermilab injector upgrade would
get $25M, $5M below the request but $10M above the House number.
In a surprise move, SSC champion Bennett Johnston (D-LA), folded
the controversial Energy Strategy bill into the appropriations
bill. The effect was to deflect the debate away from the SSC.
Senator Bumpers (D-AR), who leads the opposition to the SSC,
decided to withhold an amendment to kill the supercollider until
the bill comes up on the floor. That could happen as early as
next week.
4. LAMPF SUPPORT SHIFTED TO ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSE
APPROPRIATIONS.
With the venerable Los Alamos Meson Physics
Facility facing term-ination, its $54M, plus $11M, was shifted to
a defense account in a ploy credited to Sen. Domenici (R-NM).
But Budget Director Richard Darman could rule that the move
violates the "fire wall."
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