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I was invited to provide this brief commentary about the federal government's decision in October 1993 to discontinue construction of the Superconducting Super Collider, a particle accelerator of unsurpassed power, size, and sophistication. The collider, which was being constructed south of Dallas, Texas, was arguably the largest science project in history. A primary goal was to find a particle called the Higgs Boson, which has so far eluded physicists but which theory indicates is the key to understanding what gives particles mass.
I administered a $100 million competitive research program for SSC-related research funded by the state of Texas. Over $44 million was awarded to approximately 100 universities in 34 states and Canada. Because I had the unpleasant task of terminating these grants and contracts, I strongly suspect that I am too much of an insider and still too deep in the trenches to present a totally dispassionate, accurate, erudite analysis of the fate of the SSC, one which historians would regard favorably. Having qualified myself and forewarned the reader that I am unwilling to hare all my views at this time, there are some opinions that I will discuss.
It has been my observation that when funds are tight, a frequent political action is to "slay the wounded." When did the SSC become thought of as wounded? I was aware from what appeared in the popular press that it had occurred even before I arrived at the Commission in April 1991. A political cartoon by Bubba Flint showing a man labeled "Congress" with a large mallet labeled "Super Collider budget cuts" appeared in the February 11, 1991, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A sampling of newspaper articles from November 1990 through March 1991 chronicles the cutbacks suffered in the 101st Congress and the turning tide for the SSC. The articles in this collection include those entitled "Supercollider is a superstar, so far," USA Today; "Democrats mull cuts in Super Collider funds," Houston Post; "Backers of Texas Supercollider hope to find subatomic particles and congressional funding," The Wall Street Journal; "Budget barrier could slow 54 mile track for atomic particles," Atlanta Journal/Constitution; and "Congressional aides cast skeptical eye on collider,"...