In defence of the Department of Energy

摘要

The latest major civilian science project to be undertaken by the US Department of Energy is already under threat in the Congress, even though its construction has hardly begun (see Nature 398, 739; 1999). There are solid grounds for concern about how the planned Spalla-tion Neutron Source project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has been managed during its initial phase. James Sensenbren-ner (Republican, Wisconsin), the chair of the Science Committee in the House of Representatives, has done his job by drawing public attention to these concerns. But in going further, and attempting to block funds for the project even as the Department of Energy takes the necessary steps to fix it, Sensenbrenner shows the lack of a sense of proportion that tends to characterize congressional oversight of the department.