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dorsed the proposed technical design changes that I mentioned earlier.

Given the potential cost increases, a status report on the project was given to the White House. The result of the ensuing discussion resulted in a reaffirmation of the administration's strong support for pursuing the Super Collider to achieve the original 20 TeV per beam goal.

Now, substantial progress has been made on the SSC project in the last few months. The Department has approved the laboratory's plan, geographical location of the collider ring and campus and has requested Texas to proceed with the land acquisition. Texas is also proceeding with issuing bonds and expects to have the first $250 million in hand by late May to early June. A memorandum of understanding with Texas is being developed, and we expect to complete it next month.

Also the architect engineering construction manager has been selected by the laboratory to design and construct the conventional facilities. Contract negotiations are now under way with the consortium of firms selected. And that negotiation should be completed, and we expect to award the contract later this summer.

Now with regard to foreign participation, the Department retains the goal of obtaining one-third of the project from non-federal sources. And, of course, that includes the $1 billion from the State of Texas. During the past year, the Department, working with other agencies, prepared a plan for seeking international contributions to the SSC. We certainly recognize the need to apprise the Congress of our international cost sharing strategy and have begun briefing members on this plan. An unclassified version of this plan has been prepared and is ready to be released. Deputy Secretary Henson Moore will lead a delegation on the first international visits seeking SSC participation in June.

Many of your written questions submitted to the department for the record focused on management issues. And, therefore, I would like to address some progress that we have made in that area. Last summer, a new management organization for the SSC was approved by the Secretary that is consistent with his objective of strong line management responsibility for his large projects.

Responsibility in the Department for the SSC is in the Office of Energy Research. The plan calls for an SSC program manager heading the Office of the SSC reporting directly to me. We have an acting program manager and candidates for the permanent program manager are being evaluated. And I expect a selection quite soon. A Department of Energy onsite office has been established in Texas with staffing for the office underway. This site office reports directly to the SSC office in headquarters.

I am pleased to announce that I have identified an outstanding project manager who has considerable experience in the Department of Defense and in the private sector to head this site office. I expect that he will be in place about May 21. The management of the project at the SSC Laboratory is also being strengthened. A search committee has been established to locate an individual with a proven track record in managing large projects to be the laboratory's project manager. The project manager will report to the laboratory director and have full responsibility for the project.

At the present time, the laboratory is continuing to refine its design and its associated cost and schedule estimates. The Department will then conduct two independent reviews of the laboratory's work, and we will have a new validated cost estimate this summer. A third independent review will be conducted by a subpanel of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel. The subpanel members will be selected with appropriate experience in building large projects. As a result of these activities we expect to have a hard cost and schedule estimate in August of this year.

In fiscal year 1991, primary emphasis in the project will be on design and magnet development.

Now, there are many other important activities in the Department's fiscal year 1991 request for the Office of Energy Research, such as, the human genome initiative, climate change research, and operation and construction of scientific user facilities. Dr. Bromley has already touched on a number of these activities.

In the interest of time, I will not cover them in my oral remarks. They are described in my written testimony. This completes my remarks, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

[The prepared statement of Dr. Decker follows:]

Statement of James F. Decker

Acting Director

Office of Energy Research

Department of Energy

before the

Subcommitte on Energy Research and Development

of the

Senate Committe on Energy and Natural Resources

April 24, 1990

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

It is a pleasure to appear here today to present the FY 1991 budget request for the programs supported by the Office of Energy Research (ER). These programs are: High Energy Physics, the Superconducting Super Collider, Nuclear Physics, Basic Energy Sciences, Magnetic Fusion Energy, Biological and Environmental Research, Energy Research Analyses, University and Science Education, University Research Instrumentation, Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-Facilities Support, and supporting program direction.

Funding for these programs in FY 1991 is being requested under the two appropriations shown in Table 1, Energy Supply R&D and General Science and Research. The total FY 1991 budget request for ER's programs is $2.7 billion, an increase of $302 million over the FY 1990 appropriation of $2.4 billion. In his February 7, 1990, testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Dr. Allan Bromley, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, noted that, "federal support for basic research is an essential investment in the nation's scientific and technological future." This request reflects the Administration's commitment to the key role played by science in enhancing the economic and technological well-being of the United States, as well as the quality of our lives. It also reflects our continuing commitment to excellence in the research programs supported by the Office of Energy Research. I would like to discuss the programs under the General Science and Research appropriation first, followed by those under the Energy Supply R&D appropriation.

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