IP: SENATE EARMARK SEEKS TO MOVE THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE.

[David Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

The FY 98 NSF budget request includes $25M for an incoherent
scatter radar for studies of ionospheric plasmas. The plan was to
locate the radar near the north magnetic pole in Resolute Bay,
Canada.  Canada?  Senate Appropriations Committee chair Ted
Stevens (R-AK) inserted an earmark in the appropriations report
language directing NSF to move the location to Alaska --specifically, to
the University of Alaska's auroral research
facility, for which Stevens has already earmarked at least $115M
from the DOD budget since 1990(WN 15 Nov 96).  Moving the north
magnetic pole may create an international incident, but opening
up the NSF budget to earmarking is more troubling.