295 



Question 1: Do you believe that International collaboration in magnetic 

 fusion energy would be expedited if there was a single US government agency 

 to provide oversight, management, and funding for all US participation in 

 international science activities, or is the status quo working well? 



Answer: I think that our international collaboration in goal-oriented 



programs, such as fusion, would most likely be hindered by having such a 



single agency. I base this strong view on our experiences with more than 



twenty formal International agreements during the past decade. International 



collaboration is an integral part of the fusion program. That means that 



the identification, definition and management of cooperative activities must 



be carried out by program staff as a key part of their regular functions. 



In carrying out international cooperative activities we have benefitted from 

 the general policy guidance received from the Department of State and the 

 Office of Science and Technology Policy. Neither of those groups, however, 

 can be sufficiently involved with program details to provide specific over- 

 sight, management or funding in a manner consistent with a mission oriented 

 program. Even within the Department of Energy, the role of the central 

 office of International Affairs has been one of support to the programs in 

 the formal negotiation process for agreements and in interpretation of 

 general policy guidelines. 



In my view, the current system of treating international activities as an 

 integral part of a mission oriented program while measuring the program's 

 performance in the international arena against broad policy guidelines is 

 the appropriate way to conduct these activities. 



