THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994               TAG: 9408040571
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Sen. Charles S. Robb, D-Va., voted to keep the space station alive, and Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., voted to kill the project. Their votes were reversed with a story Thursday. A Senate amendment to delete funding for the multibillion-dollar space station was defeated 64-36. Correction published Friday, August 5, 1994. ***************************************************************** SENATE SPARES SPACE STATION IN VOTE ON FUNDING AMENDMENT

The Senate kept the space station alive Wednesday despite objections from opponents who insisted Russian participation would increase the program's cost.

``Let's go ahead and stop talking about it and build it,'' said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, whose state would benefit from the project.

An amendment by Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., to delete funding for the multibillion-dollar project was defeated 64-36. The vote came during debate on a bill that includes $14.4 billion in funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration next year.

Gramm pleaded with colleagues to defeat the amendment ``by such overwhelming numbers that we don't have this debate next year.''

Bumpers and other space station opponents said the money would be better spent on other research projects or social programs or used for reducing the federal budget deficit.

NASA has said that Russian participation, agreed to last November, would reduce the future U.S. cost of the space station by $2 billion to $17.4 billion by the time it is completed and ready for occupancy in June 2002. The United States has spent about $11 billion to date on the station.

However, a General Accounting Office analysis said there would be ``no net savings from Russian participation that could be used to fund other areas of the program and accelerate the schedule.'' ILLUSTRATION: HOW THEY VOTED

A ``yes'' vote is a vote to kill the space station.

John W. Warner, R-Va..........No

Charles S. Robb, D-Va........Yes

Jesse A. Helms, R-N.C.........No

Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C........No

KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE

by CNB