[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 66 (Monday, May 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4973-S4974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1744. A bill to permit duty free treatment for certain structures, 
parts, and components used in the Gemini telescope project; to the 
Committee on Finance.


                the gemini telescope project act of 1996

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
is of great importance to the entire international scientific community 
and to the State of Hawaii. This legislation grants tariff relief to 
the Gemini project, an international astronomical project.
  The Gemini project, which is run by the Association of Universities 
for Research in Astronomy [AURA] on behalf of the National Science 
Foundation [NSF] and several foreign nations, consists of two 8-meter 
optical telescopes to be constructed over the next few years on Mauna 
Kea, HI, and on Cerro Pachon, Chile.
  AURA is a private, nonprofit consortium of United States and foreign 
affiliated education and other nonprofit institutions that operate 
several world-class astronomical observatories throughout the world. 
The Gemini project is an international partnership and draws funding 
from the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, 
Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Fifty percent of the project's cost is 
borne by the United States and 50 percent by the project's foreign 
partners.
  Because of the international cooperation involved in the Gemini 
project, the specific partner countries have been assigned work 
packages and bids for components of the telescope have been requested 
from both United States and international suppliers. For example, 
Corning Glass Works in New York produced the 8-meter mirrors required 
for the telescopes and then shipped them to France for polishing. Once 
this polishing is completed, the mirrors will be sent to Hawaii for 
installation.
  Gemini's international cooperation is a model for major scientific 
projects in the future. We all realize that we must reduce the Federal 
deficit, and that will mean belt-tightening across Government. The 
Gemini model offers an innovative way to do significant scientific 
research in such a climate because the United States and its 
international partners share the cost of construction, and, in turn, 
benefit by shared use of the telescopes once they are constructed.
  However, this international cooperation has presented a problem for 
AURA. Although all non-U.S. partner countries have already waived all 
taxes and duties related to the Gemini project, the U.S. Customs 
Service has initially ruled that the mirror is subject to duties upon 
reentry into the United States. The Customs Service classifies the 
mirror as a component of the telescope. This initial ruling appears to 
negate the terms of the ``Florence Agreement,'' an international trade 
agreement from the 1950's which permits scientific instruments duty-
free entry when used by a nonprofit organization.
  The customs duties for the importation of all Gemini project, 
components basically means that one Federal Government agency--the 
NSF--will end up paying another Federal Government agency--the U.S. 
Customs Service--for an import duty which, I believe, clearly violates 
the terms of the ``Florence Agreement.''
  Not only will the Customs Service's tariff ruling cause a problem 
with cost and schedule for the Gemini project, but it will also 
threaten future international scientific collaborations because of the 
potential problem it poses to such a project's cost. It would appear 
that as these international partnerships become more crucial in this 
era of ever-tightening budgets, the Customs Service's position will 
undermine the viability of these kinds of scientific arrangements.
   Mr. President, I am pleased to advise my colleagues that there is a 
strong precedent for the Congress to enact legislation that would 
provide relief for the Gemini project. In the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988--Public Law 100-418, the Congress agreed 
with the same arguments I have described here today and provided tariff 
relief for the W.M. Keck Observatory project administered by the 
California Association for Research in Astronomy. This legislation is 
comparable in scope to the 1988 provision, except for the fact that the 
Keck Observatory was a privately funded telescope whereas the Gemini 
project carries an official designation as a U.S.-owned and operated 
facility.
  Time is critical to the successful completion of the Gemini project. 
Key components of the telescope are scheduled for arrival in the United 
States early next year, and it does not appear that the U.S. Customs 
Service will provide any specific relief for the Gemini project. As a 
result, this legislation is vital to avoiding serious cost or schedule 
disruption to the Gemini Program.
  I urge my colleagues on the Finance Committee to take up this 
important legislation at the earliest possible opportunity so that the 
Gemini project may proceed on schedule and within budget.
   Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.

[[Page S4974]]

  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1744

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

     SECTION 1. CERTAIN STRUCTURES, PARTS AND COMPONENTS USED IN 
                   THE GEMINI TELESCOPES PROJECT, MAUNA KEA, 
                   HAWAII.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury is 
     authorized and directed to admit free of duty after March 31, 
     1997, the following articles for the use of the Association 
     of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in the 
     construction of the Gemini North Telescope, Mauna Kea, 
     Hawaii, as part of the international Gemini 8-Meter 
     Telescopes Project:
       (1) The telescope enclosure, produced by Coast Steel 
     Fabricators, Ltd., Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
       (2) The telescope structure assemblies, produced by G.I.E. 
     Telas, Cannes le Bocca, France.
       (3) The telescope mirror coating plant, produced by the 
     Royal Greenwich Observatories, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
       (4) The telescope primary mirror, polished by REOSC, Saint-
     Pierre-du-Perray, France.
       (5) The telescope secondary mirror, produced by Carl Zeiss, 
     Oberkochen, Germany.
       (6) The telescope acquisition, guiding, and wavefront 
     sensing equipment, produced by the Royal Greenwich 
     Observatories, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
       (b) Reliquidation.--If the liquidation of the entry of any 
     article described in subsection (a) has become final before 
     April 1, 1997, the entry shall, notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, be reliquidated on April 1, 1997, in 
     accordance with the provisions of this section and the 
     appropriate refund of duty made at time of such 
     reliquidation.
                                 ______