724 



APPENDIX I APPENDIX I 



On October 7, 1980, the President signed into law the 

 Magnetic Fusion Energy Engineering Act of 1980 (Public Law 

 96-386). The act recognized the need to develop an essentially 

 inexhaustible energy resource to offset the impending worldwide 

 scarcity of many exhaustible, conventional energy resources. It 

 established several R&D objectives such as demonstrating the 

 engineering feasibility of magnetic fusion by the early 1990's. 



Even though actual funding for fusion R&D has remained 

 relatively high — $466.1 million in fiscal year 1983 — the act 

 envisioned funding at $615 million for fiscal year 1983 and $788 

 million by fiscal year 1988. Past and expected budget constraints 

 have and will cause delays in DOE ' s fulfilling some of the act's 

 requirements.^ As budget constraints tighten, and the costs of 

 large, more advanced fusion facilities increase, DOE officials 

 have stated that they will be more dependent on international 

 cooperative efforts to further the nation's fusion program. 



POLICY AND STRATEGY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

 COOPERATION IN FUSION ENERGY R&D 



U.S. policy on international cooperative efforts in fusion 

 energy research and development is formulated by three agencies: 

 OSTP, the Department of State, and DOE. Participation in inter- 

 national cooperative research projects has to be consistent with 

 administration interests and foreign policy. Administration 

 interests are conveyed to DOE by OSTP and those related to foreign 

 policy by the Department of State. The Department of State helps 

 to ensure that proper diplomatic protocol is followed in negotia- 

 ting an agreement and that an agreement is consistent with U.S. 

 foreign policy. 



DOE'S policy on international cooperation in fusion energy 

 development is described in its June 1983 Comprehensive Program 

 Management Plan developed in response to Public Law 96-386. 

 Briefly, that policy is that the United States participate, 

 through the Office of Fusion Energy, in those international co- 

 operative efforts which (1) benefit the overall fusion program and 

 (2) allow the United States to maintain its leadership position in 

 fusion activities. International cooperative efforts are used to 

 complement the U.S. fusion program and, where feasible, reduce 

 program costs by sharing the expense of building and operating 

 selected facilities. 



*For further information on the status of DOE's fusion R&D pro- 

 gram, see our April 29, 1983, report. Status of DOE's Implementa - 

 tion of the Magnetic Fusion Energy Engineering Act of 1980 

 (GAO/RCED-83-105) . 



