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Show House rejects Marriott amendent on MX project Under heavy lobbying by the White House and the Defense Department, the House of Representatives today rejected an amendment by Rep. Dan Marriott that would have required written plans related to the impact of the construction of the MX system in Utah and Nevada. The final vote was 135-268. "The White House and the Air Force pulled out all the stops to defeat my amendment," said Marriott, "which would have merely put in writing what they have already committed verbally to do. It raises serious questions in my mind about the credibility of the Administration's , promises to deal straight with Utah and Nevada on this issue." Mariott said he was told by the Defense Department that they were totally opposed to his amendment and would "fight it with everything we've got." Related the Utahn, "That included in-cluded calls from Vice President Mondale and other White House and Defense officials to (House Speaker) Tip O'Neill, (Majority leader) Jim Wright, members of the House Armed Services Committee and the House members in general. With that show of force, it's pretty clear they want to keep all their committments verbal. It's apparently a lot easier to break a promise than a law." Marriott's amendment required the Secretary of defense, before using any public land for MX deployment, to provide a report on the impact of the project, a proposal on how they plan to go about minimizing the impact on the communities involved, and a study on the feasibility of split-basing. split-basing. "That's no more than the promises we have received from the Air Force all along," declared Marriott. "As late as yesterday, I was told by the Air Force that they would have no problem complying with those requirements, and in fact were already doing it. But they didn't want to be tied down to a written committment, com-mittment, especially in the form of a law." Marriott said the issue will now move into the Interior Committee, which has jurisdiction over the withdrawal with-drawal of public lands and of which he is a member. "We will begin debate as early as January or February of next year," he noted, "and it will be a heated one. After today, the Administration Ad-ministration will be on the hot seat to justify beyond question any withdrawal with-drawal of land for the MX system." Marriott emphasized that he continues to support the MX system in some form, but is extremely disappointed disap-pointed there isn't more cooperation from the Administration. "We need the MX and we need it as soon as possible. But the refusal by the Administration Ad-ministration to submit to written commitments on impact reports and impact aid plans may actually delay the project," he said. In his floor speech during the debate, Marriott said his amendment would avoid delays, uncertainties, suspicions and even lawsuits. "A lack of preparation and planning will undermine public confidence, raise serious questions, invite even more opposition, delay the project, and ultimately hurt national security," he concluded. The $153.7 billion dollar defense authorization bill (H.R. 6974) of which the Marriott amendment would have been a : part, ultimately passed the house by a vote of 338 to 62 Wednesday. |