Back to the Precipice: SSC Funding Rejected by the House

In what has become a major test of wills, the House of Representatives by a vote of nearly 2 to 1 has rejected the conference bill containing $640 million in funding for the Superconducting Super Collider. Although this is by no means the final chapter, the SSC is in trouble.

This most recent action occurred yesterday afternoon when the House of Representatives took up the conference report on H.R. 2445, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. Through a series of complex parliamentary procedures, SSC opponents were successful in forcing a vote on the collider. The Ranking Republican on the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, John Myers (R-Indiana), a SSC supporter, tried to head-off a direct vote on the collider by asking for a vote to end debate and the possibility of amendments. His motion, which would have sent the conference report back for further unspecified work, was rejected by a vote of 159-264.

This opened the door for SSC opponent Jim Slattery (D-Kansas) to offer his own motion. Slattery also wanted to send the report back to the conference committee, but his motion included instructions to House conferees to terminate the SSC. The House adopted his motion by a vote of 282-143. This vote closely parallelled last June’s vote to terminate the SSC, which was 280-141. SSC opponents obviously had done their homework, and were ready and waiting.

So where does this leave the SSC? With only about one day left in DOE’s stop gap funding, SSC proponents and opponents are no doubt working on new report language. If opponents were unsuccessful in being welcomed into the process earlier this month, they have now forced their way, even if informally, into the negotiations. A now more conciliatory Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-Louisiana) admitted as much when he said yesterday, “Today is a sad day for science. The House was wrong, but they have a right to be wrong. Their message on deficit reduction and the SSC was clear and unmistakable. The conference must find ways to accommodate this message.”

There is speculation that a way might yet be found to secure some level of SSC funding. While it is clear that SSC supporters underestimated their opposition, there is the distinct possibility that SSC opponents could make the same mistake. Johnston is one of the best tacticians in the Senate, and it is probably too early to count him, or the SSC, completely out. Nevertheless, if this was a boxing match, it would be safe to say that the SSC has sustained a body blow, and the referee has probably reached a count of around “7" or “8.” What will occur next is anyone’s guess; there is much rumor today in Washington and very little hard fact. Yet to be seen is if SSC opponents will accept any level of collider funding, as well as the degree of Senate resolve to fund the project. Also unknown: the amount of pressure which the White House, already busy with NAFTA and health care, is applying on Congress to secure SSC funding. The conference committee is due to meet tomorrow.