WASHINGTON — House Republicans have defeated a move that
            could have helped cement refunding of a now-depleted compensation
            fund for downwind cancer victims of atomic bomb testing.
                  On a 219-205 vote, they dumped a Democratic motion last week
            to instruct negotiators in a House-Senate conference on the
            Supplemental Appropriations Bill. It called for accepting three
            Senate-passed provisions, including one to add $84 million to the
            empty compensation fund.
                  Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, voted for that unsuccessful motion
            with almost all Democrats. Reps. Jim Hansen and Chris Cannon,
            R-Utah, voted against it with almost all Republicans.
                  "Motions to instruct conferees are always gimmicks. In every
            case, they are non-binding on conferees anyway. They have no legal
            standing," said Bill Johnson, Hansen's legislative director.
                  He said majority parties view such motions as hurting their
            overall power to negotiate a final bill — and leaders view members as
            disloyal if they support such motions. "They want to be able to play
            all their cards in negotiations," he said.
                  Hansen and Cannon were quick to stress that they favor
            refunding the empty compensation fund, even if they voted against
            the Democratic procedural motion. Cannon is also the House sponsor
            of a bill to make annual replenishing of the fund automatic.
                  But Democratic leaders said the House should have passed the
            motion to show relief is coming soon to downwinders who qualify for
            compensation and who have been receiving mere IOUs since the
            fund ran out of money last year.
                  "There is no reason to use these items as leverage. People who
            are eligible for these funds need to know they will receive them,"
            said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., ranking Democrat on the House
            Appropriations Committee and author of the motion. "Those people
            were fried by their own government. . . . These are people who are
            dying because of the action of their own government."
                  Most qualifying downwinders lived in Utah, which was downwind
            from the atomic tests conducted in Nevada.
                  Matheson challenged House members to tell a fallout victim that
            the government is spending $30 million to tell everyone "they're
            going to get a tax rebate, but we don't have enough money to
            compensate you while you are sick and dying.' "
                  Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, successfully sought
            adding the $84 million for that fund in the Senate. They say it is
            enough to pay off outstanding IOUs, and to cover expected new
            claim approvals through fiscal 2001, which ends Sept. 30.
                  Problems with the compensation fund came last year when the
            former Clinton administration mistakenly requested too little money
            to cover expected claims. Backlogs became worse when Congress last
            year approved expanding the list of eligible cancers, and increased
            the amount of compensation offered.