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- From: jac@ds8.scri.fsu.edu (Jim Carr)
- Newsgroups: sci.physics.fusion
- Subject: Re: Discretionary Spending
- Message-ID: <11843@sun13.scri.fsu.edu>
- Date: 27 Jan 93 14:23:49 GMT
- References: <930126163947_72240.1256_EHL56-1@CompuServe.COM>
- Sender: news@sun13.scri.fsu.edu
- Reply-To: jac@ds8.scri.fsu.edu (Jim Carr)
- Organization: SCRI, Florida State University
- Lines: 41
-
- In article <930126163947_72240.1256_EHL56-1@CompuServe.COM> Jed Rothwell <ub-gate.UB.com!compuserve.com!72240.1256> writes:
- >To: >INTERNET:fusion@zorch.sf-bay.org
- >
- >Rusty Perrin and J. A. Carr have questioned whether the DoE has any legal
- >authority to conduct CF experiments in the first place, without authorization
- >from Congress. This is a reasonable question. I have discussed it with
-
- I did not say anything of the sort, Jed. I said that DOE *contractors*
- must be careful to operate within their contracts, which is a bit different
- from the situation for an NSF grantee. Congress only enters at the
- appropriation level (and could ban or mandate CF research, but has
- done neither) and this level is far removed from the level of all but
- the larger DOE contracts and the largest NSF programs. Congress does
- micromanage DOE more than NSF, although that changed this past year
- with the LIGO earmark that has led to large (>10%) cuts in nuclear and
- materials research (plus others of which I am unaware).
-
- All contracts have some discretionary funds, but contractors, especially
- small ones, must act within the limits of their contract. As Jed notes:
-
- >Under normal circumstances, if a scientist at LANL, Fermilab or some other
- >DoE lab had some level of discretionary spending authority, and he or she
- >wished to, he could conduct experiments relating to energy. As long as the
- >experiments stayed within the allowed budget, there would be no problem.
-
- Further, with Congressional oversight the way it has been, I believe
- there has been a general reduction in the discretionary funds
- available at national labs. Probably goes back to LAMPF, where they
- managed to excavate the accelerator hall with spare change and the
- soils testing money during the "pre-design" stage of the project.
-
- The situation is different when you are a university researcher with a
- $60,000 or $100,000 contract to explore some particular project. One
- needs approval from the contract monitor to shift the entire focus of
- the contract to some other project.
-
- --
- J. A. Carr | "The New Frontier of which I
- jac@gw.scri.fsu.edu | speak is not a set of promises
- Florida State University B-186 | -- it is a set of challenges."
- Supercomputer Computations Research Institute | John F. Kennedy (15 July 60)
-