The Senate today approved, 94-2, the conference report on the $250 billion fiscal 1999 Defense appropriations bill--following House approval of the same measure Monday.
The Defense measure is the third of the 13 annual appropriations measures to be cleared by both houses and sent to President Clinton for his signature.
Although critical of the Defense appropriations bill, White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry today did not rule out that the President might sign the measure-which includes a provision taking away jurisdiction over sales of satellites overseas from the Commerce Department and returning it to the State Department.
The legislation would put commercial satellites back on the State Department's munitions list, causing them to be treated as military technology.
"We will look at the legislation and consider it carefully," McCurry said. But he also noted that "it's hard to imagine how a commercial communications satellite might be described as a munition."
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