TAW@SU-AI@sri-unix (08/30/82)
From: Tom Wadlow <TAW at SU-AI>
a244 1516 29 Aug 82
AM-NASA Funds,330
Space Agency Layoffs Expected Because Of Reagan Veto
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - Space workers may have to be laid off
and the next shuttle mission delayed because of President Reagan's
veto of a supplemental money bill, officials say.
Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, would shut down if it is forced to
lay off its 2,100 federal civil service workers, ''but that's very
unlikely,'' space center spokesman Hugh Harris said Friday.
About half the work force at Johnson Space Center, or 3,400 workers,
is employed under civil serivce law, and spokesman Steve Nesbitt said
preparations for the shuttle's fifth mission could not continue
without them.
Astronauts who are not in the branches of the military are covered
by civil service law.
Reagan's veto of the $14.2 billion bill ''doesn't push us into a
furlough situation yet. There is still an opportunity for Congress to
override the veto, which many believe will be done, or to pass
another supplemental bill more to the president's liking,'' Nesbitt,
public information officer at the center, said Sunday.
He said that even if they are necessary, furloughs could not be
handed out until Sept. 19, to comply with statutory notice
requirments. The furloughs would last from three to 10 days.
Nesbitt said the shuttle's launch, scheduled for Nov. 11, could be
delayed one day for every day employees are not working.
Reagan announced Saturday he had vetoed the bill, saying that it
exceeded his domestic programs request by nearly $1 billion. In
addition to the space center, the veto could affect 27 government
offices and the salaries of 3 million military personnel.
Any layoffs stemming from the funding shortfall the bill was to
cover could last through Sept. 30. The fiscal year of the federal
government starts Oct. 1. Funding as of that date has already been
approved by Washington.
While Congress has recessed for the Labor Day holiday until Sept. 8,
Kennedy Space Center has enough funds to cover the payroll until
Sept. 20.
ap-ny-08-29 1816EDT
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