The Nation - News from May 18, 1988

The Senate almost completed action on a $299.5-billion defense authorization bill but passage was blocked by the threat of a filibuster against an amendment that would impose the death penalty for drug-related murders. If the death penalty proposal by Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) is not dropped, a filibuster by senators who oppose the death penalty in general could ensue and delay the bill until in June. A decision on resolving the impasse was put off until today. The Senate bill contains a measure that would put the Pentagon in charge of drug surveillance.