 |
 |
Dear Colleagues, As most of you may have heard, the House Appropriations Committee has approved its version of the FY 2008 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2641) and sent it to the House floor for consideration. Among the recommendations, one finds the following: "The Committee supports the requested increase in research and development activities, from $30,000,000 to $60,000,000, to prepare for the International Linear Collider (ILC), including detailed studies of possible U.S. sites for the ILC." However, the following concern is also voiced: "The Committee has several areas of concern. ... growth in the estimated cost for the International Linear Collider (ILC) means that the schedule for this major high energy physics facility, which the United States aspires to host, will be delayed. ... The Committee recommends some shifts in funding and priority from those proposed by the Administration to address these concerns." You can read the full report at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_reports&docid=f:hr185.110.pdf The OMB has released a Statement of Administration Policy responding to this, which reads, in part: "The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 2641... if H.R. 2641 were presented to the President, he would veto the bill." You can read the full statement at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr2641sap-h.pdf Clearly, this is just the start of a long process. Sincerely, Norman Graf