Department of Energy FY94 Budget: An Overview

The Department of Energy has requested a total of $19.6 billion for fiscal year 1994. This is a $0.6 billion, or 3.2 percent, increase from the 1993 appropriation.

Although not a large increase in dollar amount from last year’s budget, the 1994 request reflects the different priorities of the new administration. A greater emphasis will be placed on clean energy sources, energy efficiency, environmental protection, toxic waste clean-up, job creation, and technology transfer at the national laboratories. Funds for weapons production were redirected to other DOE activities, with the DOE defense programs budget reduced by 18.1 percent.

DOE’s science and technology programs received an 8.1 percent increase. Within this heading, DOE’s national labs received increased funding for cooperative agreements with industry. Funding is also requested in the 1994 budget for two new physics initiatives, an Advanced Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and a B-Factory, at a site to be selected. However, one physics project takes a step backwards: The project schedule for the Superconducting Super Collider was stretched out by 3 years, a delay that is expected to add $2 billion to the total cost. Highlights of these items are summarized below:

NATIONAL LABS:

Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary states in the budget submission that “Partnerships with the private sector should be an important part of the new mission of the laboratories. To promote these partnerships and technology transfer, the FY 1994 budget request includes an increase of $30 million for Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) at non-defense National Laboratories with an additional $50 million for each FY 1995-1998.” (An increase of $47 million for non-defense lab CRADAs is also included in President Clinton’s FY 1993 economic stimulus package.) O’Leary also notes that “in light of today’s post-Cold War era, the Administration will reassess the laboratories’ key roles in basic research, cooperation with industry and universities, and the most effective use of the talented and experienced men and women working there.”

ADVANCED NEUTRON SOURCE:

The budget document says, “This initiative would fund the design and construction of an advanced neutron source to serve as a national user facility to perform materials research, to produce rare isotopes for medical diagnosis, treatment, and research, and to perform research using neutron irradiation techniques. The facility would accommodate approximately 1,000 user groups from industry, universities, and Federal laboratories. The total projected cost of the facility is about $2.7 billion and this initiative adds $26 million in FY 1994 with an additional $1.2 billion between FY 1995 and FY 1998.”

“The Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) is to be a state-of-the-art research reactor facility that will replace two existing but aging facilities: The High Flux Beam Reactor and High Flux Isotope Reactor. . . . The budget provides $12.0 million for operating expenses, $1.0 million for capital equipment, and $26.0 million for construction.”

B-FACTORY:

The B-Factory “is a high energy physics initiative that funds the design and construction of a high luminosity electron-positron colliding beam machine for the purpose of studying the fundamental aspects of the structure of matter. This initiative includes $36 million in FY 1994 to initiate construction.” More complete information on FY 1994 funding for the B-Factory will be provided in FYI #48, on High Energy Physics.

SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER:

The FY 1994 request is $640.0 million. Regarding the stretch-out, the budget document states, “The Administration is committed to the development of the superconducting super collider as a major contribution to scientific information for the future. The Administration believes, however, that in order to ensure that all of the components of this project are technologically effective, the project schedule should be extended by three years to 2002.” More details will be provided in FYI #50.

The following five FYIs will provide details on the funding requests for High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, the SSC, Basic Energy Sciences, and Fusion Energy.