Search

The US Congress allocated $640 million for the cancellation of the Superconductor Super Collider (SSC) while significantly increasing research and development budgets. The SSC termination affects the 2000 member workforce which includes around 200 physicists.

The Congress has made cuts in the budget of basic research programs and chose to support major projects by big corporations instead. This is perceived as government's response to the country's need for new capital, new technology and new jobs.

The US Senate approved a $550 million budget for the 1993 operations of the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) research despite efforts terminate the project. A string test ran in July 1993 showed that the SSC magnets and subsystems can function together. The project is due for completion in 1999.

The High Energy Physics Advisory Panel has no other choice but to participate in the Large Hadron Collider program of the Organisation Europeenne pour la Recherche Nucleaire. The observation was made in the wake of a drastic cut on Congressional support for the Superconducting Super Collider program.

The administration of Pres Bill Clinton gives out conflicting signals to the scientific community by reducing the funds for the Superconducting Super Collider while simultaneously appointing respected members of the community to federal government posts. The recent appointments to the Natural Institutes of Health and Natural Science Foundation have reassured the supporters of basic research. Scientists have suggested the need for scientists to interact with the public and gain appreciation to ensure public confidence.

The Senate approved the budget allocation for the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider on Sep 30, 1993 despite an earlier House decision to scrap the project. A House-Senate conference scheduled at the end of Oct 1993 will finally settle the issue.

President Bill Clinton has included the Superconducting Supercollider and the Freedom Space Station as budgetary items for 1994. Budgetary provisions for the two projects is seen as sign of Clinton is keeping his campaign promise. However, it has not been specified if funds would be sufficient to keep the projects on time and there are plans to extend the 10-year construction schedule for the Supercollider. The General Accounting Office has estimated that an additional $400 million will be added to the total cost of the Supercollider for every year of delay.

The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project faces termination due to the Congressional decision to halt funding beginning FY 1993. Funding for the SSC faces further opposition in the Senate, where 37 Senators voted against it in 1991.

The House of Representatives' vote against funding the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) may signal to the international community that the US will no longer be as active in supporting basic research on high-energy physics. However, the need for the House and Senate to reach agreement on the issue may yet win the SSC at least some funding. Nevertheless, the House vote cast doubt on the European High-Energy Physics Laboratory's plans and on Japan's participation in the SSC program. Physicists hope that a decision against the SSC may force the international collaboration they have long advocated.