Update on Large Hadron Collider

There were two developments this week for the Large Hadron Collider. Both follow previous action by the House Science Committee, and statements by its chairman, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin.)

DOE AUTHORIZATION:

H.R. 1277, the Department of Energy Civilian Research and Development Act of 1997, was passed last month by the House Science Committee (see FYI #56 ). Provisions of this legislation are within the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Power Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, which held a hearing this week. Energy and Power Subcommittee members were dissatisfied with some of the actions taken by the Science Committee, particularly reductions in the solar and renewable provisions.

Kyle Simpson, a Senior Policy Advisor for the Department of Energy, testified that DOE opposes the bill as now written, in part because it puts conditions on the U.S. contribution to construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva.

The terms of U.S. participation are being renegotiated, Simpson said, and the concerns raised by Sensenbrenner and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) (a member of both the Commerce and the Science Committees) had strengthened the agreement. U.S. negotiators had not succeeded, however, in getting the European members of CERN to agree to contribute to the next major U.S. collider in return. Barton commented that he had not yet received a schedule and budget for LHC construction, and implied that his concerns were not fully satisfied. “I’m going to watch very closely,” he warned.

The House Commerce Committee has until June 6 to complete action on this bill. Its version of H.R. 1277 will be reconciled with that of the House Science Committee, after which the bill will go to the House floor. This may not occur before the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee acts on its FY 1998 appropriations bill, which provides the actual funding for DOE. Passage of a bill is not always necessary to bring about change, however, as noted below.

LETTER FROM DOE SECRETARY PENA TO SENSENBRENNER:

Secretary Federico Pena sent the following letter to Chairman Sensenbrenner on May 20:

“Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner:

“I would like to express my appreciation for your efforts to strengthen our agreement to cooperate with the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), in the Large Hadron Collider Project.

“Earlier you raised concerns, which I share, regarding several areas in the agreement as originally negotiated. Since that time, my staff has worked in concert with yours to address those concerns in discussions with CERN. I believe that we now have an amended and considerably strengthened agreement which, when ratified and signed, will better protect the interests of the United States. Since this agreement will be a precedent for future cooperation in this field this outcome is particularly important.

“Your commitment to working with us on this important Administration priority will help to keep the United States at the forefront of high energy physics research.”