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substantial international cooperation, and operates at realistic 

 budget levels — an admirable but difficult task- 

 Administration Officials 



The fusion-related views of high-level U.S. administration officials 

 seem concentrated on program cost matters. Budget officials are 

 unenthusiastic about significant new commitments to large projects, or 

 to increases in base programs either. The President's Science Advisor 

 has talked of a "balanced fusion program," which is to advance with 

 due deliberation, obtaining a maximum of information available from 

 each step and taking full advantage of progress in other technical 

 fields and in other countries. International cooperation would be 

 judged in both quarters, one expects, on its promise to reduce overall 

 U.S. fusion program costs or at least help to hold them level. 



Congressional Committees 



The Congressional authorization committees tend to be fusion program 

 supporters and inclined toward a comprehensive U.S. program including 

 new machines. The appropriation committees are mainly interested in 

 accomplishments in relation to costs. Recent actions on the fusion 

 budget for fiscal year 1985 were accompanied by questions on the 

 readiness of the U.S. program to advance from a scientifically 

 oriented program to an applications oriented program so soon. In 

 particular, there was a concern that funding the planning for TFCX 

 before full results were available from TFTR might be tantamount to a 

 premature choice of a particular reactor concept. Thus, along with 

 cutting the fusion budget, the appropriation committees admonished the 

 Department of Energy not to damage the base program in favor of TFCX 

 or other new machines. 



In general, it may be expected that the Congressional committees 

 will act positively and decisively only when there is consensus on 

 goals, objectives, and program content and when the costs of these are 

 commensurate with probable benefits. 



Industry Executives 



Apart from those of a few specific firms, executives of the 

 manufacturing industries as suppliers and the electric utilities as 

 users of eventual fusion power systems evince polite interest in the 

 whole subject, including international cooperation, and not much more, 

 principally because the commercial aspects of fusion are so far in the 

 future. There is not much business to be done in fusion for the 

 present; and what there is involves difficult technologies to which 

 American manufacturers seem reluctant to accord matching priority, 

 talent, and energy. 



