New GAO Report Sees Difficulty in Obtaining Foreign SSC Contributions

A new report by the General Accounting Office, “Foreign Contributions to the SSC,” cautions that “DOE may have difficulty obtaining the foreign contributions needed to meet its $1.7 billion goal for the SSC.” This 15-page study, done at the request of a House science subcommittee, also found “the procedures DOE and the SSC Laboratory followed when entering into agreements with foreign laboratories and the criteria DOE used for considering cost savings under international agreements as foreign contributions were appropriate.”

The Department of Energy has scheduled $1.7 billion in foreign contributions for the SSC through FY 1999. At the end of FY 1992, $15 million of an expected $20 million had been received. In addition to negotiated contributions from India, China, and Russia, DOE is looking to Korea for a potential $32 million contribution, Canada for $50 million, and Japan for $1,355 million. Other contributions of $66 million are projected. Negotiations with Korea were at an impasse as of last November because DOE would not guarantee Korea an opportunity to bid on magnet construction. Negotiations with Canada had not started as of last November. Western European countries are not expected to participate because of their involvement in CERN’s proposed Large Hadron Collider.

DOE is pinning its hope on a Japanese contribution of much of the additional $1.1 billion in foreign contributions needed through fiscal year 1996. Without this funding, GAO cautions that DOE will have difficulty in soliciting other foreign contributions. On the subject of such a contribution, GAO concludes:

“The Japanese told us that they are studying (1) the academic merits of the SSC; (2) the plans for the project, including its technical feasibility and cost and schedule estimates; and (3) the possibility of making the SSC an international project rather than a U.S. domestic product.

“To date, the Japanese have not decided whether they will contribute to the SSC. Japanese officials indicated to us that the decision would be based on political considerations, such as the extent of U.S. support for the project. They told us that a prerequisite for a Japanese contribution was strong support for the SSC project from both the administration and the U.S. Congress. According to DOE officials, Japan will not decide on the nature and extent of any Japanese contribution until the position of the new administration on the SSC is known. As of December 1992, negotiations were under way and it was unclear when they would be concluded.”

FYI #11 summarizes a letter from former DOE Secretary James Watkins which discusses foreign contributions for the construction of the SSC.