Political Quotes

“Rise today to address a matter of great concern not only for my congressional district, but for the future of science research in the United States. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, has been a leader in fusion energy research for decades, and I would like to clarify congressional intent regarding the continued operations of its Alcator C-Mod fusion energy experiment. While the President's Fiscal Year 2013 budget request contained a substantial increase for the international fusion energy project ITER, based in France, it dramatically reduced domestic fusion energy funding as a trade-off. As part of this effort, the President's request would schedule the Alcator C-Mod tokamak for closure. I want to be clear: at no point in the appropriations process has Congress approved of or authorized this closure. The Continuing Resolution before us today, H.R. 933, directs the Department of Energy, DOE, to continue virtually all policy and funding provisions included in currently enacted appropriations legislation for FY 2012 for DOE, including its Office of Science. The Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee has previously expressed profound concern regarding the need to maintain a balance between domestic and international funding in the Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, as well as the need to maintain the US fusion talent base and leadership.…”