Senate Appropriations Committee Passes DOE Funding Bill
On June 4 the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by 27-0, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill for FY 1999, which funds the civilian R&D programs within the Department of Energy. The House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its funding bill tomorrow.
The Senate bill, S. 2138, would provide funding equal to the requested amount for High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Basic Energy Sciences. For Fusion Energy Sciences, the Committee would provide an amount equal to FY 1998 funding, and greater than the request. The Committee also suggests bringing these four programs together with several others under a newly renamed “Office of Science Research.”
DOE FY 1998 FY 1999 Senate
Program Approp. Request bill
(In millions)
High Energy Physics $680.0 691.0 691.0
Nuclear Physics 320.9 332.6 332.6
Basic Energy Sciences 668.2 836.1 836.1
Fusion Energy Sciences 232.0 228.2 232.0
The following selections are taken from S. Report 105-206, which accompanies the bill. There were no comparable explanatory paragraphs for High Energy or Nuclear Physics.
BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES: “Spallation Neutron Source. - Despite significant budget pressures, the Committee recommends the full amount of the request for construction of the spallation neutron source. The Department of Energy’s construction and operation of scientific user facilities sets it apart from any other Federal agency. The Committee encourages the Department’s continued success in this regard, and will make every effort to provide the optimum annual funding to complete construction on schedule.
“The Committee recommendation includes $10,000,000 to continue the Department’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research [EPSCoR] Program.”
FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES: “The Committee has previously complemented the review and coordination provided to the magnetic fusion program by the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Board.... The Committee is aware of efforts within the domestic and international fusion community to redirect the program in light of the demise of the proposed $11,000,000,000 international thermonuclear experimental reactor [ITER]; an inevitable decision given current and anticipated budgets. Three options are under consideration: a single machine strategy based on a more affordable ITER concept; a multiple machine strategy that would pursue parallel, phased, or sequential steps; and the possibility of deferring any decision about the next magnetic fusion facilities.
“The Committee recommends that the Department, prior to committing to any future magnetic fusion program or facilities, conduct a broader review to determine which fusion technology or technologies the United States should pursue to achieve ignition and/or a fusion energy device.
“The Department currently funds four fusion related technologies; pulsed-power, lasers, ion drivers, and magnetic fusion. The Department has been reluctant or unable to review those technologies as a group because they have different near-term objectives and are managed by different program offices. Regardless of these near-term and management differences, the Committee is aware that scientists within each program have an eye toward ignition and energy applications.
“The Committee is well aware of the challenges entailed by a review of multiple programs with multiple and possibly competing technologies. However, the Department should conduct an encompassing review of all four technologies prior to making decisions about next steps toward fusion energy, specifically to consider non-magnetic alternatives. At the very least, the review should develop a roadmap that justifies the continued development of each technology.
“The Committee is aware of a number of proposals for the decontamination and decommissioning of the Tokamak fusion test reactor [TFTR], the most expeditious of which could save the Department 3 years and $25,000,000. In the Committee’s view, this represents a clear opportunity for the Department to prove its ability to decontaminate and decommission a facility in a timely and efficient manner. The Department should report to the Committee within 180 days on the schedule and budget for the decommissioning and decontamination of the TFTR.”
GENERAL PROVISIONS: “Office of Science Research. -In the fiscal year 1998 Energy and Water Development Act, the Congress substantially reorganized the “Energy supply research and development” account...to create two separate accounts; Energy research, and science.... In accordance with the Committee’s reorganization of the “Energy supply research and development” account, the Department’s science programs have been consolidated within the Office of Energy Research, and energy research programs are managed by other program offices.... Consistent with the reorganization imposed by the Congress, the Committee recommends an amendment to the [DOE Organization Act] to rename the Office of Energy Research the Office of Science Research headed by a Director of Science Research.”
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT FUSION: Additionally, DOE supports physics research on fusion within its Atomic Energy Defense Activities. The bill would provide $213,800,000 for inertial confinement fusion. The report states, in part, “The Committee continues to be impressed with the significant scientific advancements being made in pulsed power technology at Sandia National Laboratory’s Z accelerator. Major increases in energy and temperature production enhance prospects that pulsed power may contribute in a significant way to both weapons and energy applications technology at Sandia.... Funds are included to support continued work in pulsed power experiments at the Z accelerator and to fund initial design studies for a larger facility.” On the National Ignition Facility, “an appropriation of $284,200,000, the full amount needed in fiscal year 1999 to keep this important project on schedule, is recommended for the NIF project.”
