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To: ichihara@rikvax.riken.go.jp
From: "CHRISTINE REES" <VP.APS@STANFORD.BITNET>
Subject: What's New for July 31, 1992

WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 31 July 1992                   Washington, DC

1. ATTEMPT TO KILL THE SPACE STATION IS EASILY DEFEATED IN HOUSE!
An amendment to scrap the space station, offered by Bob Traxler
(D-MI), failed 237 to 181 Wednesday night.  Little had changed in
a year; only a handful of additional votes were cast against the
orbiting budget eater, and the claims of its proponents were as
fanciful as ever.  My favorite: one Florida congressman solemnly
explained that the station is the beginning of human exploration
of the galaxies.  But back on Earth, the House found itself a bit
short of cash by the end of the evening, so it levied an across-
the-board cut of 1% on VA/HUD/IA appropriations, except veterans'
medical care.  NSF--which was already flat funded--shared in the
cut.  The cut would have been worse, but $380M was stripped from
the unneeded Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program, leaving just
$100M.  It was like sharks attacking a wounded whale; ASRM is in
the district of Rep. Jaime Whitten (D-MS), the Appropriations
Committee chair, but he was too sick and old to fight them off.

2. SPACE STATION FREEDOM SEEMS CERTAIN TO SURVIVE IN THE SENATE.
The full appropriations committee will take up the VA/HUD/IA bill
today.  Yesterday, the subcommittee called for the full $2.1B for
the space station--$400M more than the House version.  Where will
the money come from?  The National Aerospace Plane was zeroed and
the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility was stretched out.  NSF
would actually get a $162M increase, but most of that would go to
education.  Research, which does not seem to rank near the top of
Sen. Mikulski's priority list, would actually take a $20M cut.

3. SENATE SCHEDULES VOTE ON THE SUPERCOLLIDER MONDAY AT 6:30 PM!
The Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is being debated on the
floor of the Senate even as WHAT'S NEW is being composed.  Dale
Bumpers (D-AR) will introduce an amendment to terminate the SSC,
but even he seems to believe the SSC will survive.  If the SSC
does make it through the Senate, the House is expected to recon-
sider after the August break.  In a visit to the SSC yesterday,
President Bush said, "this place attracts scientific genius the
way the Dream Team attracts autograph seekers."  But basketball
is not very popular in Japan.  According to an article in Nature,
an overwhelming majority of Japanese high-energy physicists are
strongly opposed to Japan's participation in the Supercollider.

4. ITER AGREEMENT IS FINALLY SIGNED 18 MONTHS BEHIND SCHEDULE.
Is this what international cooperation on mega-science projects
is going to be like?  This is not what you call a bold agreement.
The US, the European Community, Japan and Russia agreed only to
put off a decision on the really tough stuff, like where to
locate the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
Instead they decided to build three coequal design centers in San
Diego, USA; Garching, Germany; and Naka, Japan.  The location of
ITER will not be decided for another four years, and it will not
operate before 2005. The cost is expected to be on the SSC scale.

Robert L. Park  (202) 662-8700      The American Physical Societyok

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