Kennedy (D-MA) amendment to the Budget Reconciliation Act to reduce the nuclear fission research and development budget by $309 million. Despite the massive cuts that Congress and the Administration made in nearly all non-military programs in 1981, funding for nuclear research and development was substantially increased. The Senate rejected this amendment to eliminate a 41% increase in nuclear R & D funding the day after it voted huge cuts in solar and energy conservation (see vote 11). Despite a 26-year, multi-billion dollar investment by the federal government, nuclear power remains extremely dangerous and expensive, with no end in sight to its escalating costs. It is ironic that many politicians who speak the loudest in favor of free market economics voted to increase federal handouts for the most heavily subsidized segment of the energy industry. Rejected 25-69; June 25, 1981. YES is the pro-environment vote.