Word: sst
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...effective in the past, the professional persuaders argued that U.S. prestige, thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in profits were at stake in the continued development of the plane. The pressure, economic and nationalistic, seemed irresistible. But last week the House of Representatives, which had staunchly supported the SST through ten years of controversy, stunningly reversed itself and voted to terminate all funds for the aircraft...
...SST's critics had revived all of the specters of environmental damage that a fleet of SSTs might inflict, including a frightening and seemingly exaggerated new emphasis on the increased hazards of skin cancer...
...nation's cities decaying, government at all levels screaming for financial aid, and welfare costs soaring, why should federal funds be used to help a relatively small number of passengers reach London and Paris a little faster? With the British, French and Russians already marketing a possibly uneconomical SST and worrying about selling it, why should the U.S. taxpayer be asked to join the gamble? On the other hand, if the plane was as surefire a moneymaker as its backers claimed, why not let free enterprise take the risk and reap the profits...
Accountable. Those were the arguments as House leaders of both parties urged their followers to vote what amounts to another $134 million to complete two SST prototypes, and thus to retain the possibility of salvaging something from the $864 million in tax money already invested. Both the galleries and the floor of the House were packed-a rarity in that chamber-as the SST debate neared its close. The strong feeling on both sides was audible. A guttural murmuring of distaste swept the floor as Democratic Floor Leader Hale Boggs harangued the House in support of the aircraft...
Although the vote eliminated the continuation of direct Federal aid to SST builders Boeing and General Electric. the administration has hinted at alternate plans including a government-backed search for private capital here and abroad. government-guaranteed loans, or a quasi-governmental corporation such as Comsat. which operates an international satellite communications system...