House and Senate Report Language for DOE: Fusion

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved, on July 16, differing versions of a fiscal year 1997 Energy and Water Development bill (see FYI #109.) Committee reports are available for both the House and Senate bills. Below is report language that describes the committees’ views and recommendations for the Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences Program. Future FYIs will contain committee report language on Basic Energy Sciences and General Science and Research Activities (which comprises High Energy and Nuclear Physics.)

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT (H. Report 104-679):

FUSION PROGRAM

“The Committee recommendation for the fusion energy sciences program is $225,000,000. Last year, the Committee provided $244,144,000 which included one-time termination costs.

“As requested by Congress, the Department of Energy and an expert review panel have proposed a restructured fusion energy sciences program. This new program supports - at a significantly reduced funding level - advancement of key fusion research areas and exploration of alternatives. The budget request is based upon an extensive review of the fusion program conducted by the Fusion Energy Advisory Committee (FEAC) and is described in the report entitled, `A Restructured Fusion Energy Sciences Program.’ The Committee endorses the restructured program policy goals recommended by FEAC. However, due to the reduced funding in fiscal year 1997, implementation of the restructured program will proceed on a somewhat slower schedule. The Committee provides $17,000,000 for fusion plasma theory and $3,000,000 for basic plasma science.

“Three research facilities comprise the major experimental elements of the nation’s fusion science and technology infrastructure - the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at Princeton, the Alcator C-Mod at MIT, and the DIII-D at General Atomics. Because these facilities make up an important component of the domestic fusion energy sciences program, the Committee provides funding for these facilities in fiscal year 1997 at $52,000,000 for TFTR, $44,000,000 for DIII-D, and $12,000,000 for Alcator C-Mod. The Committee notes that in keeping with FEAC’s recommendation, this will be the final year of operation for TFTR.

“In addition to the facilities listed above, a new small-scale national initiative, the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment (NSTX), has been proposed to investigate innovative approaches to plasma confinement. Exploration of promising alternative concepts has been recommended by FEAC. The Committee provides $5,000,000 to begin construction of the NSTX facility in fiscal year 1997.

“The Committee’s recommendation includes $7,600,000 which the Department requested for fusion-related support under the Computational and Technology Research program, and $8,400,000 which the Department requested for fusion-related program direction. The Committee is providing the full $225,000,000 directly to the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences to maintain comparability to the amount provided last year and to provide maximum flexibility to the Office. The Committee notes that the Federal headquarters workforce for the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences is excessive. The Committee directs that the Office reduce its Federal workforce by 25 percent by the end of fiscal year 1997.

“The scientific challenges posed by the international ITER project are consistent with the policy goals of the domestic fusion energy sciences program. Therefore, the Committee provides $55,000,000 for U.S. participation in the ITER design activities in fiscal year 1997.

“It is vital that the U.S. fusion energy sciences program make maximum effective use of its considerable human resources and facility infrastructure, while leveraging off the international programs. The Committee is committed to seeing that these objectives are implemented.”

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT (S. Report 104-320):

FUSION PROGRAM

“The fiscal year 1996 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act provided $244,144,000, a reduction of $128,419,000 or 34 percent from the amount requested, for the fusion energy program. In the conference report accompanying the act, the conferees instructed the Department to prepare, with the participation of the fusion community and the Fusion Energy Advisory Committee, a strategic plan to implement the necessarily restructured program. The conferees directed that the plan should assume a constant level of funding in the base program for the next several years; as appropriate, it should be integrated with the plans of the international fusion program; and it should address the institutional makeup of a domestic program consistent with the funding assumptions.

“The Committee is impressed by the balanced plan developed with the assistance of the Fusion Energy Advisory Committee and is pleased that the Department has incorporated the recommendations of the plan into the program. As a result, the Committee has provided $240,000,000, as close to level funding as possible given budget constraints, for the fusion energy program. Such amount includes $6,720,000 for program direction, a 20-percent reduction of the $8,400,000 the Department proposed to fund for fusion energy-related program direction in other energy research program direction and $8,000,000 for fusion energy-related computing the Department had proposed to fund in other energy research computational and technology research. The recommendation includes the amount requested to continue the U.S. participation in the engineering design activities phase of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor [ITER] project, to which the United States is committed through fiscal year 1998.”