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Report from the HillThe League scored some important victories at the close of the 98th Congress in December--passage of the reauthorization of the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA); an Anti-Satellite Weapons Program (ASAT) moratorium; delay in MX missile production; and passage of early projections legislation which unfortunately was ignored by the networks. The RCRA bill endorsed by the League governs handling of hazardous wastes including generation, treatment, storage and disposal. It closes loopholes in the existing program. Unfortunately other environmental issues such as the Clean Water Act, Superfund, and the Safe Drinking Water Act never saw the light of the Senate floor. While the League endorsed Brown/ Coughlin amendment requiring a moratorium on testing of Anti-satellite weapons (ASATS) against objects in space so long as the Soviets continued to observe their moratorium was traded away in the defense authorization conference, arms control supporters, with the aid of chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, were able to hold on to an important component: A five-month moratorium on testing against objects in space and a limit of three allowable, as opposed to three successful, tests in FY '85 were won. Additionally supporters of arms control held the budget for FY'85 for Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to a minimal $1.4 billion, getting a major cut in the administration's $1.63 billion request. As a result of pressure from the League and other citizen group, Congress agreed to delay MX missile production by postponing procurement of funds for 21 MX missiles until March or April. The president is expected to submit a report by March 1, and then only after two votes in both Senate and House can procurement actually take place.
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