Friday, 7 August 1992 Washington, DC
1. SENATE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES SSC AS DEFICIT ISSUE
SUBSIDES.
The deficit hasn't shrunk, but it seems to have
declined as an issue; maybe it's just that Ross Perot is out of
the race. By a vote of 62 to 32, the Senate rejected the Bumpers
amendment to delete the SSC from the Energy and Water
Appropriations Bill. A second Bumpers amendment to make support
for the SSC contingent on international commitments fell by the
same margin. Sen. Boren (D-OK) predicted that the SSC "...will
revolutionize the computer industry, the medical community, and
transform our industrial and technological base. Economic
opportunities never anticipated will arise, scientific
advancements never predicted will proceed, and educational worlds
never explored will emerge." All this, he said, even if the
scientific goals are not met! Sen. Gramm (D-TX) drawled, "I doubt
if there is a Member of the Senate who really understands what
the SSC is all about." As if to prove his point, he claimed that,
"Between 20 and 30 percent of the gross national product of the
United States comes from high-energy physics." In the House,
which is expected to reconsider the SSC following the August
break, prospects are much brighter than they were in June.
2. SENATE JOINS HOUSE IN CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF NUCLEAR
TESTING.
The House had already voted to cut off money for
testing for one year. Monday, the Senate, which had always
blocked test limits, voted to suspend tests through June 93, in
spite of a veto threat
by President Bush who called for six tests in FY 93. But scien-
tists who would have welcomed a total ban a few years ago are now
ambivalent. In 1990, the Drell panel concluded that "unintended
nuclear detonations present a greater risk than previously esti-
mated." In March, Drell testified that some safety measures can
be taken without testing, such as retiring older weapons, but to
design safer weapons, testing is needed. Beginning in July 93,
the Senate measure would allow limited tests for reliability and
safety for three years, followed by a total ban after Sept. 96.
3. SENATE VA/HUD/IA APPROPRIATIONS BILL CASTS A CLOUD OVER
NSF!
Never mind the numbers; NSF would be directed to shift its focus
toward industrial support. The Appropriations Committee approved
the bill last Friday (WN 31 Jul 92).
Language in the report calls on the Foundation to take a "more
activist role in transferring the results of basic research to
the market place." NSF is told to open up applied research
programs to industry and tailor its education programs to
industry's needs. But to divert scarce research funds to
industry--at the very time Congress is intent on shrinking the
NSF research budget--would have a devastating effect on academic
research, which is already pretty shaky. The bill could be voted
on by the full Senate as early as Monday.
4. CORRECTION: SEN. DOMENICI (R-NM) SUPPORTS LAMPF AS A
CIVILIAN FACILITY.
According to his office, he had no hand
in the shift of funding to defense accounts, as implied in WHAT'S
NEW 24 July 93.
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