THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160380
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
In a victory for President Clinton, the House rejected a Republican proposal Wednesday designed to force the administration to move ahead with a national missile defense system.
On a 218-212 vote, the House dropped the missile defense language from a bill pushed by the House GOP leadership.
Twenty-four Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the amendment. They included John Kasich of Ohio, chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, chairman of the Banking Committee.
Deleted was language directing the secretary of defense to ``develop for deployment at the earliest possible date'' an antiballistic missile system to defend the nation against attack.
The vote was on an amendment by Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., R-S.C., that said improving the readiness of U.S. forces and developing a defense against shorter-range missiles should have a higher priority.
Spratt's amendment dropped a defense system for intercontinental missiles from the top priority in the defense portion of the House Republicans' ``Contract With America'' to third in a list of priorities.
The bill also contained provisions setting a GOP stamp on policies toward U.N. peacekeeping, NATO expansion and command and control of U.S. forces.
Clinton declared his opposition to the bill, saying it ``represents an assault on the authority of the president.''
As debate got under way in the House, Speaker Newt Gingrich told a news conference that ``having watched this administration, we disagree deeply with the way they would risk American lives around the planet.''
Gingrich singled out what he called the administration's ``willingness to rely on the United Nations instead of the United States.''
``This bill represents an assault on the authority of the president as commander in chief,'' Clinton told Gingrich in a letter dated Tuesday.
The president never used the word ``veto'' but made it clear that was a probable outcome.
``The bill contains numerous flawed provisions that are simply unacceptable,'' wrote Clinton.
He concluded the letter by calling the measure ``bad national security policy'' that would ``set us on a collision course with some of our closest allies.'' MEMO: HOW THEY VOTED
A ``yes'' vote is a vote to delete the provision for a national
anti-ballistic missile system.
Herbert Bateman, R-Va.No
Owen B. Pickett, D-Va.Yes
Robert C. Scott, D-Va.Yes
Norman Sisisky, D-Va.Yes
Eva Clayton, D-N.C. Yes
Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C. No by CNB