I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1781

To require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan for a magnetic fusion

burning plasma experiment for the purpose of accelerating the scientific

understanding and development of fusion as a long term energy source,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 9, 2001

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. HOLT, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. GORDON, Mr. TOM DAVIS

of Virginia, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISSA, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr.

FILNER, Mr. WAMP, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. LEE, Mrs. DAVIS of California,

Mr. BACA, and Mrs. TAUSCHER) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Science

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan for

a magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment for the

purpose of accelerating the scientific understanding and

development of fusion as a long term energy source,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fusion Energy

5 Sciences Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) economic prosperity is closely linked to an

4 affordable and ample energy supply;

5 (2) environmental quality is closely linked to en6 ergy production and use;

7 (3) population, worldwide economic develop8 ment, energy consumption, and stress on the envi9 ronment are all expected to increase substantially in

10 the coming decades;

11 (4) the few energy options with the potential to

12 meet economic and environmental needs for the

13 long-term future must be pursued aggressively now,

14 as part of a balanced national energy plan;

15 (5) fusion energy is a long-term energy solution

16 that is expected to be environmentally benign, safe,

17 and economical, and to use a fuel source that is

18 practically unlimited;

19 (6) the National Academy of Sciences, the

20 President’s Committee of Advisers on Science and

21 Technology, and the Secretary of Energy Advisory

22 Board have each recently reviewed the Fusion En23 ergy Sciences Program and each strongly supports

24 the fundamental science and creative innovation of

25 the program, and has confirmed that progress to-
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1 ward the goal of producing practical fusion energy

2 has been excellent;

3 (7) each of these reviews stressed the need for

4 the Fusion Energy Sciences Program to move for5 ward to a magnetic fusion burning plasma experi6 ment, capable of producing substantial fusion power

7 output and providing key information for the ad8 vancement of fusion science;

9 (8) the National Academy of Sciences has also

10 called for a broadening of the Fusion Energy

11 Sciences Program research base as a means to more

12 fully integrate the fusion science community into the

13 broader scientific community; and

14 (9) the Fusion Energy Sciences Program budg15 et is inadequate to support the necessary science and

16 innovation for the present generation of experiments,

17 and cannot accommodate the cost of a burning plas18 ma experiment constructed by the United States, or

19 even the cost of key participation by the United

20 States in an international effort.

21 SEC. 3. PLAN FOR FUSION EXPERIMENT.

22 (a) PLAN FOR UNITED STATES FUSION EXPERI23 MENT.—The Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to

24 as ‘‘the Secretary’’), on the basis of full consultation with,

25 and the recommendation of, the Fusion Energy Sciences
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1 Advisory Committee (in this Act referred to as

2 ‘‘FESAC’’), shall develop a plan for United States con3 struction of a magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment

4 for the purpose of accelerating scientific understanding of

5 fusion plasmas. The Secretary shall request a review of

6 the plan by the National Academy of Sciences, and shall

7 transmit the plan and the review to the Congress by July

8 1, 2004.

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF PLAN.—The plan described

10 in subsection (a) shall—

11 (1) address key burning plasma physics issues;

12 and

13 (2) include specific information on the scientific

14 capabilities of the proposed experiment, the rel15 evance of these capabilities to the goal of practical

16 fusion energy, and the overall design of the experi17 ment including its estimated cost and potential con18 struction sites.

19 (c) UNITED STATES PARTICIPATION IN AN INTER20 NATIONAL EXPERIMENT.—In addition to the plan de21 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary, on the basis of

22 full consultation with, and the recommendation of,

23 FESAC, may also develop a plan for United States par24 ticipation in an international burning plasma experiment

25 for the same purpose, whose construction is found by the
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1 Secretary to be highly likely and where United States par2 ticipation is cost effective relative to the cost and scientific

3 benefits of a domestic experiment described in subsection

4 (a). If the Secretary elects to develop a plan under this

5 subsection, he shall include the information described in

6 subsection (b), and an estimate of the cost of United

7 States participation in such an international experiment.

8 The Secretary shall request a review by the National

9 Academy of Sciences of a plan developed under this sub10 section, and shall transmit the plan and the review to the

11 Congress by July 1, 2004.

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP13 MENT.—The Secretary, through the Fusion Energy

14 Sciences Program, may conduct any research and develop15 ment necessary to fully develop the plans described in this

16 section.

17 SEC. 4. PLAN FOR FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM.

18 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment

19 of this Act, the Secretary, in full consultation with

20 FESAC, shall develop and transmit to the Congress a plan

21 for the purpose of ensuring a strong scientific base for

22 the Fusion Energy Sciences Program and to enable the

23 experiment decribed in section 3. Such plan shall include

24 as its objectives—
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1 (1) to ensure that existing fusion research fa2 cilities and equipment are more fully utilized with

3 appropriate measurements and control tools;

4 (2) to ensure a strengthened fusion science the5 ory and computational base;

6 (3) to ensure that the selection of and funding

7 for new magnetic and inertial fusion research facili8 ties is based on scientific innovation and cost effec9 tiveness;

10 (4) to improve the communication of scientific

11 results and methods between the fusion science com12 munity and the wider scientific community;

13 (5) to ensure that adequate support is provided

14 to optimize the design of the magnetic fusion burn15 ing plasma experiments referred to in section 3; and

16 (6) to ensure that inertial confinement fusion

17 facilities are utilized to the extent practicable for the

18 purpose of inertial fusion energy research and devel19 opment.

20 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec22 retary for the development and review of the plans de23 scribed in this Act and for activities of the Fusion Energy
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1 Sciences Program $320,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and

2 $335,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

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