Congress Challenges Shut-Down Plans for Superconducting Super Collider

Abstract

If the hearing held earlier this month by the House Subcommittee on Science is any indication, the arguments about the government's largest failed research project--the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC)--are going to go on, and on. Many members of Congress are determined to get the government out as quickly as possible, spending as little as it has to. The Department of Energy is trying to find some way to save face and maximize the investment it made in the SSC without running afoul of an angry Congress. The state of Texas is trying to get what it can out of this soured deal by getting some reimbursement for funds spent, or a new government facility, or some other use of the property in the near future while trying to accommodate the arcane provisions of DOE's termination plan. It is clear that arguments over the government's largest failed research project are going to continue. They may be longer lived than the project itself.