[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1130 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1130
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 28, 2001
Mr. Craig (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Corzine) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fusion Energy Sciences Act of
2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) economic prosperity is closely linked to an affordable
and ample energy supply;
(2) environmental quality is closely linked to energy
production and use;
(3) population, worldwide economic development, energy
consumption, and stress on the environment are all expected to
increase substantially in the coming decades;
(4) the few energy options with the potential to meet
economic and environmental needs for the long-term future must
be pursued aggressively now, as part of a balanced national
energy plan;
(5) fusion energy is a long-term energy solution that is
expected to be environmentally benign, safe, and economical,
and to use a fuel source that is practically unlimited;
(6) the National Academy of Sciences, the President's
Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology, and the
Secretary of Energy Advisory Board have each recently reviewed
the Fusion Energy Sciences Program and each strongly supports
the fundamental science and creative innovation of the program,
and has confirmed that progress toward the goal of producing
practical fusion energy has been excellent;
(7) each of these reviews stressed the need for the Fusion
Energy Sciences Program to move forward to a magnetic fusion
burning plasma experiment, capable of producing substantial
fusion power output and providing key information for the
advancement of fusion science;
(8) the National Academy of Sciences has also called for a
broadening of the Fusion Energy Sciences Program research base
as a means to more fully integrate the fusion science community
into the broader scientific community; and
(9) the Fusion Energy Sciences Program budget is inadequate
to support the necessary science and innovation for the present
generation of experiments, and cannot accommodate the cost of a
burning plasma experiment constructed by the United States, or
even the cost of key participation by the United States in an
international effort.
SEC. 3. PLAN FOR FUSION EXPERIMENT.
(a) Plan for United States Fusion Experiment.--The Secretary of
Energy (in this Act referred to as ``the Secretary''), on the basis of
full consultation with, and the recommendation of, the Fusion Energy
Sciences Advisory Committee (in this Act referred to as ``FESAC''),
shall develop a plan for United States construction of a magnetic
fusion burning plasma experiment for the purpose of accelerating
scientific understanding of fusion plasmas. The Secretary shall request
a review of the plan by the National Academy of Sciences, and shall
transmit the plan and the review to the Congress by July 1, 2004.
(b) Requirements of Plan.--The plan described in subsection (a)
shall--
(1) address key burning plasma physics issues; and
(2) include specific information on the scientific
capabilities of the proposed experiment, the relevance of these
capabilities to the goal of practical fusion energy, and the
overall design of the experiment including its estimated cost
and potential construction sites.
(c) United States Participation in an International Experiment.--In
addition to the plan described in subsection (a), the Secretary, on the
basis of full consultation with, and the recommendation of, FESAC, may
also develop a plan for United States participation in an international
burning plasma experiment for the same purpose, whose construction is
found by the Secretary to be highly likely and where United States
participation is cost effective relative to the cost and scientific
benefits of a domestic experiment described in subsection (a). If the
Secretary elects to develop a plan under this subsection, he shall
include the information described in subsection (b), and an estimate of
the cost of United States participation in such an international
experiment. The Secretary shall request a review by the National
Academies of Sciences and Engineering of a plan developed under this
subsection, and shall transmit the plan and the review to the Congress
no later than July 1, 2004.
(d) Authorization of Research and Development.--The Secretary,
through the Fusion Energy Sciences Program, may conduct any research
and development necessary to fully develop the plans described in this
section.
SEC. 4. PLAN FOR FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES PROGRAM.
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary, in full consultation with FESAC, shall develop and
transmit to the Congress a plan for the purpose of ensuring a strong
scientific base for the Fusion Energy Sciences Program and to enable
the experiment described in section 3. Such plan shall include as its
objectives--
(1) to ensure that existing fusion research facilities and
equipment are more fully utilized with appropriate measurements
and control tools;
(2) to ensure a strengthened fusion science theory and
computational base;
(3) to encourage and ensure that the selection of and
funding for new magnetic and inertial fusion research
facilities is based on scientific innovation and cost
effectiveness;
(4) to improve the communication of scientific results and
methods between the fusion science community and the wider
scientific community;
(5) to ensure that adequate support is provided to optimize
the design of the magnetic fusion burning plasma experiments
referred to in section 3; and
(6) to ensure that inertial confinement fusion facilities
are utilized to the extent practicable for the purpose of
inertial fusion energy research and development.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the
development and review of the plans described in this Act and for
activities of the Fusion Energy Sciences Program $320,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002 and $335,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
<all>