‘Star Wars’ in Trouble in Congress, Reagan Told

Despite a narrow Senate victory that preserved funding for the so-called “Star Wars” defense plan at $3.9 billion for fiscal 1987, Republican congressional leaders told President Reagan on Wednesday that the controversial program is in trouble on Capitol Hill.

The congressmen, all strong supporters of the space-based missile defense system, warned the President that the program would continue to be vulnerable to budget cuts because it is regarded primarily as a bargaining chip in U.S.-Soviet relations and not as a completely credible alternative to the current arsenals of offensive weapons.

‘Bend Some Metal’

“We have to bend some metal; we have to deploy something; we have to have some tests to show the American people this is not a dream--this is reality,” Rep. Jim Courter (R-N. J.) told reporters after the meeting.

Conservatives, led by Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N. Y.), have assailed Reagan for reportedly suggesting in a letter to Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev that he will not deploy the missile defense system for about seven years. Kemp said that Reagan assured him during the morning meeting that the contents of the letter to Gorbachev had been “misunderstood.”

In speaking to a group of “Star Wars” advocates at the White House later in the day, Reagan insisted that he did not propose any “grand compromise” to Gorbachev to trade away his Strategic Defense Initiative, as the program is formally known, in exchange for deep cuts in offensive weapons.

“I leave you with this thought: When the time has come and the research is completed, yes, we are going to deploy,” he told the group, without speculating on how long it would take to reach that point.

Conservative proponents of the Strategic Defense Initiative contend that parts of the program will be deployable sooner than in seven years and that Reagan would be making a dangerous concession if he put a time limit on deployment.

‘Troubled’ by Reports

Sen. Gordon J. Humphrey (R-N. H.) issued a statement saying that he is “very troubled” by reports that Reagan has put “Star Wars” on the bargaining table in Geneva. “Once (it) gets caught up in that spider’s web of arms-control negotiations, we shall never free it--never,” he said.

Kemp said in a statement issued before his meeting with Reagan that the Administration is undermining support for the Strategic Defense Initiative by dangling it as a bargaining chip. “I know of no surer way of losing congressional support for a program than to lead people to believe that their money is being spent on a program we may give away,” he said.

On the other hand, congressional skeptics--who appear to be in the majority on Capitol Hill--point to a preponderance of scientific evidence that shows deployment of any space-based defense system could be 10 to 15 years away, if it is achievable at all.

Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) said that, despite Reagan’s declarations to the contrary, it is clear that he is “inching toward” a compromise with the Soviets that includes the Strategic 1147496037Wars” program would be undercut if the program appears to be a bargaining chip.

Taking the opposite viewpoint, he said: “If there was more evidence that the President was genuinely willing to move to the kind of grand compromise that everyone is talking about, then I think the support for SDI would increase dramatically.”

Seeks Strong Backing

As a result of these sharply differing perceptions of the value of “Star Wars,” support for the program is eroding at the same time that Reagan contends that he needs strong congressional backing as leverage to deal with the Soviets.

“Both diplomacy and our internal debate are at a critical juncture,” he told Strategic Defense Initiative supporters at the White House. “Together, we must make it plain that this is the worst time to undermine vital defense programs and take away America’s needed negotiating leverage.”

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he told Reagan that his push for the Strategic Defense Initiative has “not focused on the near term enough.” He suggested that the Administration concentrate on “site-specific defense” that would protect smaller areas as opposed to the “umbrella defense” covering the nation that Reagan envisions.