House OKs $1.8 Billion for Space Station

In what has become an annual rite of passage for a proposed international space station, the House on Thursday beat down attempts to stop or reduce funding for the orbiting science lab, scheduled to be launched in late 1997.

In a bipartisan show of support, the House of Representatives voted 286 to 127 to authorize $1.8 billion for the space station in next year’s budget. The $30-billion project supports more than 1,000 jobs in Orange County.

The station was part of a larger $19.7-billion measure covering a panoply of civilian science projects, many of which saw their funding cut in a Republican-led drive to reduce spending.

The science bill, which cuts funding for Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department programs, was approved on a voice vote and sent to the Senate. Even if the bill were to eventually pass the Senate, it would face a likely veto by President Clinton.

Although the administration also supports space station funding, Vice President Al Gore said in a statement that the science bill is “bad for the economy, bad for the environment and bad for the quality of life of the American people” because it cuts the budgets for science and technology programs and environmental research.

However, House Science Committee Chairman Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) said the bill focuses on “basic science” instead of “corporate welfare” projects, in which the government joins with the private sector to develop new technology.

The space station already has a House pledge to pay for the project through completion in 2002. But because the Senate has not made a similar long-term commitment, both chambers must vote annually to authorize spending.

Opponents of the station, who regularly cite its astronomical cost, employed a new argument this year: Russia’s participation, they said, could be put in jeopardy if President Boris N. Yeltsin loses next month’s election in Russia. That would significantly increase the cost to American taxpayers, they said.

“Should Mr. Yeltsin lose, it’s likely that Mr. [Gennady A.] Zyuganov will be the president of Russia,” said Rep. Greg Ganske (R-Iowa). “And as most of you know, he hates the West and I doubt we would see any cooperation with the space station.” Zyuganov is the Communist Party candidate in the Russian election, set for June 16.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has estimated the project would cost another $2 billion and be delayed by 18 months if Russia were to leave the program, which also involves European and Asian countries.