[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 600

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to cooperate in the international 
magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment, or alternatively to develop 
  a plan for a domestic burning plasma experiment, for the purpose of 
accelerating the scientific understanding and development of fusion as 
                       a long term energy source.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 11, 2003

  Mr. Craig (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to cooperate in the international 
magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment, or alternatively to develop 
  a plan for a domestic burning plasma experiment, for the purpose of 
accelerating the scientific understanding and development of fusion as 
                       a long term energy source.

    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 Development Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (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 
        should be pursued aggressively now, as part of a balanced 
        national energy plan.
            (5) Fusion energy is an attractive long-term energy source 
        due to a virtually inexhaustible supply of fuel available to 
        all nations, its potential as a large base-load electric and 
        hydrogen energy source requiring relatively little land mass, 
        and its inherent safety and promise of minimal environmental 
        impact.
            (6) The National Research Council, the President's 
        Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, and the 
        Secretary of Energy Advisory Board have each 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, although much 
        scientific and engineering work remains to be done.
            (7) Each of these reviews have stressed the need for a 
        magnetic fusion burning plasma experiment to address key 
        scientific issues and as a necessary step in the development of 
        fusion energy.
            (8) The United States fusion research community has 
        developed a strong consensus that the first option for United 
        States involvement in a burning plasma experiment should be 
        through the international project known as ``ITER'', and, that 
        should the ITER experiment fail to go forward, then the 
        construction of a domestic burning plasma experiment known as 
        the Fusion Ignition Research Experiment or ``FIRE'' should be 
        pursued aggressively.
            (9) The United States scientific community has also 
        developed a corresponding consensus that the eventual success 
        of fusion power will require, concurrent with a burning plasma 
        experiment, strengthened effort in fundamental fusion science, 
        development of advanced technology, and innovation and 
        optimization of configurations for an eventual fusion 
        demonstration facility.
            (10) The Fusion Energy Sciences Program budget within the 
        Department of Energy is inadequate to support the necessary 
        science and innovation for the present generation of 
        experiments, and cannot accommodate the cost of participation 
        in or construction of a burning plasma experiment.

SEC. 3. PLAN FOR FUSION EXPERIMENT.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Priority for international burning plasma project.--The 
        Secretary of Energy (in this Act referred to as ``the 
        Secretary'') is authorized to undertake full scientific and 
        technological cooperation in the international burning plasma 
        project known as ITER.
            (2) Alternative project.-- If at any time during the 
        negotiations on the ITER project, the Secretary determines that 
        construction and operation of the ITER project is unlikely or 
        infeasible, the Secretary shall send to Congress, as part of 
        the budget request for the following year, a plan for 
        implementing the domestic burning plasma experiment known as 
        FIRE, including costs and schedules for FIRE. The Secretary 
        shall refine such plan in full consultation with the Fusion 
        Energy Sciences Advisory Committee and shall also transmit such 
plan to the National Research Council for review.
    (b) United States Policy With Respect to Fusion Energy Science.--
            (1) Declaration of policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
        United States to develop the scientific, engineering, and 
        commercial infrastructure necessary to ensure that the United 
        States is competitive with other nations in providing fusion 
        energy for its own needs and the needs of other nations, 
        including, by demonstrating electric power or hydrogen 
        production for the United States energy grid utilizing fusion 
        energy at the earliest date possible.
            (2) Fusion energy plan.--Within 6 months of the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress 
        a plan for carrying out the policy set forth in paragraph (1), 
        including cost estimates, proposed budgets, schedules, 
        potential international partners, and specific programs for 
        implementing such policy.
                    (A) Requirements of plan.--Such plan shall also 
                ensure that--
                            (i) existing fusion research facilities are 
                        more fully utilized;
                            (ii) fusion science, technology, theory, 
                        advanced computation, modeling and simulation 
                        are strengthened;
                            (iii) new magnetic and inertial fusion 
                        research facilities are selected based on 
                        scientific innovation, cost effectiveness, and 
                        their potential to advance the goal of 
                        practical fusion energy at the earliest date 
                        possible;
                            (iv) such facilities that are selected are 
                        funded at a cost-effective rate;
                            (v) communication of scientific results and 
                        methods between the fusion energy science 
                        community and the broader scientific and 
                        technology communities is improved;
                            (vi) inertial confinement fusion facilities 
                        are utilized to the extent practicable for the 
                        purpose of inertial fusion energy research and 
                        development; and
                            (vii) attractive alternative inertial and 
                        magnetic fusion energy approaches are more 
                        fully explored.
                    (B) Report on fusion materials and technology 
                project.--In addition, the plan required by this 
                section shall also address the status of, and to the 
                degree possible, the costs and schedules for--
                            (i) the design and implementation of 
                        international or national facilities for the 
                        testing of fusion materials; and
                            (ii) the design and implementation of 
                        international or national facilities for the 
                        testing and development of key fusion 
                        technologies.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) The term ``ITER'' refers to the international fusion 
        research project whose design is complete and whose location 
        and financing are currently being negotiated between Japan, 
        Europe, the Russian Federation, Canada, China, and the United 
        States.
            (2) The term ``FIRE'' refers to the Fusion Ignition 
        Research Experiment, the fusion research experiment for which 
        design work has been supported by the Department of Energy as a 
        possible alternative burning plasma experiment in the event 
        that the ITER project fails to move forward.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated--
            (1) for participation in the ITER project (for development 
        of the FIRE project) under section 3(a) of this Act--
                    (A) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
                    (B) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
                    (C) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
                    (D) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
                    (E) $115,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and
            (2) for the Fusion Energy Sciences Program in addition to 
        the sums under paragraph (1) of this section--
                    (A) $335,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
                    (B) $349,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
                    (C) $362,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
                    (D) $377,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
                    (E) $393,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
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