View of fusion from Capitol Hill

On October 7, 1980, the Magnetic Fusion Energy Engineering Act of 1980 (nicknamed the 'McCormack Fusion Bill') was signed into Public Law (P.L. 96-386) by President Carter. This new law if carried through, would result in an accelerated program leading in the near term to: (1) the establishment of a national center for fusion engineering; and (2) the design, construction and operation of a multi-billion dollar fusion reactor called the Fusion Engineering Device (FED). It is the purpose of this paper to briefly outline some of the legislative history that led up to the passage of P.L. 96-386, and finally, to present some thought on the legislative climate with regard to the FY '82 Department of Energy budget