House Approves Space Station Funding; Outlook on SSC, NSF

By an unexpectedly wide margin on June 28, the House of Representatives rejected an amendment to terminate funding for Space Station Freedom. The vote came on an amendment offered by Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Indiana) and Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-New Jersey) to delete station funding from H.R. 2491, the VA, HUD Appropriations bill for FY 1994. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 220 to 196. This margin was somewhat of a surprise, since last week the House voted to authorize space station funding by only a one vote margin.

It was expected that as many as a dozen Democrats who had supported the authorization for the station would change their position and vote against the actual funding of the project. On the day of the vote, House science committee chairman George Brown (D-California) said, “I’m sure it’s in trouble.”

The reasons for the turn-about vary, ranging from NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin’s statement that “we had some time to explain to them [representatives] what we’re doing” following eight hours of telephone calling, to absenteeism on the House floor during the unusual Monday session.

Whatever the reasons, the space station is in much better shape than the superconducting super collider, which the House voted to terminate last week. Appropriations subcommittee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) and Ranking Republican Phil Gramm (R-Texas) are strong station supporters, and the subcommittee’s bill will reflect that fact. There is still a long way to go, with Senator Jim Sasser, a station opponent, predicting a “photo finish.” Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) announced he will oppose both space station and SSC funding, as he did last year. Last year, the Senate approved station funding by a vote of 63-34.

SSC supporters are looking for a big win in the Senate to overcome the House’s decision to kill the project, with one House supporter saying, “I’m not sure it’s got the votes.” Last year, the Senate voted 62-32 in favor of the collider. This Democratic leader, commenting on the lack of SSC support among Democratic House freshmen, said, “I mean, there simply is no commitment to complete it, no matter whether you pumped $2 billion into that tunnel or not -- because I think people need to symbolize their opposition to spending....” The House’s decision to terminate the project, rather than reducing its appropriation, leaves less middle ground. Fears are already being expressed that the House may refuse to approve a final energy bill providing substantial money for the collider.

NSF supporters will also have to pay close attention to the Senate. Senator Mikulski is a proponent of National Service, which would be funded by her subcommittee. The Senate subcommittee also pays close attention to veterans medical care, which along with NASA, HUD, and scores of independent agencies, all draw their money from the same bill.