654 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



Having concluded that large-scale international collaboration is the 

 preferable course, the conunittee makes two recommendations to proceed: 



1. The first priority should be the establishment of a clear set of 

 policies and objectives and a considered program plan for future U.S. 

 fusion activities . 



Concrete near-term and intermediate objectives and a schedule for 

 their attainment should be established by the U.S. Department of 

 Energy and displayed to the Administration and the Congress for review 

 and concurrence. Such information is a prerequisite for substantive 

 discussions with potential partners as well as the basis for 

 long-range international commitments. 



Improved means should be devised for satisfying Congressional 

 oversight and budget control and at the same time providing improved 

 program stability. As a minimum, multiple year contracts and 

 carefully controlled off-budget financing could help. 



Inasmuch as large devices are prime candidates for international 

 collaboration, the United States should promptly formulate its 

 position with respect to next-generation tokamak experiments relative 

 to the Next European Torus in the European Conimunity and the Fusion 

 Experimental Reactor in Japan. If the positions overlap, the United 

 States, as part of the recommendation made below, should explore 

 collaboration with the European Community and Japan in all phases of 

 planning, constructing, and operating a next-step tokamak. 



2. Having carried out the preceding recommendation, the United States 

 should take the lead in consulting with prospective partners to 

 initiate a joint planning effort aimed at large-scale collaboration . 



The inevitable lead time associated with large-scale collaboration 

 calls for initiatives to be started earlier rather than later. 



Initial assumptions should recognize that the program of the United 

 States, as well as those of the European Community and Japan, must 

 start from a self-sufficient base. The planning effort should 

 identify first those areas where the national and regional plans have 

 coincident interests. Successful cooperation on a smaller scale will 

 lend confidence to larger undertakings. Steps that would lead to 

 interdepenaence must, as a practical matter, come later. These steps 

 may produce a reasonable compatibility of goals for major experimental 

 fusion devices in the period following the completion of various 

 firmly committed, near-term projects. 



