Magnetic Fusion Engineering Act of 1980
Latest action. public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) 96-386.
(Measure passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 2926) Magnetic Fusion Energy Engineering Act of 1980 - Declares it to be the policy of the United States to: (1) establish a national goal of demonstrating the engineering feasibility of magnetic fusion by the early 1990's; (2) achieve, no later than the year 1990, operation of a magnetic fusion engineering device based on the best available confinement concept; and (3) establish as a national goal the operation of a magnetic fusion demonstration plant at the turn of the twenty-first century. Directs the Secretary of Energy to initiate activities or accelerate existing activities in research areas in which the lack of knowledge limits magnetic fusion energy systems in order to ensure the achievement of the purposes of this Act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) maintain an aggressive plasma confinement research program on the current lead concept; (2) maintain a broadly based research program on alternate confinement concepts and advanced fuels; (3) ensure that research on properties of materials likely to be required for the construction of fusion engineering devices is adequate to provide timely information for the design of such devices; (4) initiate design activities on a fusion engineering device using the best available confinement concept to ensure operation of such device, no later than 1990; and (5) develop and test the adequacy of the engineering design components to be utilized in the fusion engineering device. Directs the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive program management plan for the conduct of the research, development, and demonstration activities under this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop a plan for the creation of a national magnetic fusion engineering center to accelerate fusion technology development via the concentration and coordination of major magnetic fusion engineering devices and associated activities at such a national center. Provides for the establishment of a technical panel on magnetic fusion of the Energy Research Advisory Board to review the conduct of the national magnetic fusion energy program. Requires the technical board to report at least triennially to the Energy Research Advisory Board, and requires the Board to report to the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to require the director of each magnetic fusion laboratory installation operated for, and funded by, the Federal Government to establish a program advisory committee solely for the purpose of advising such director. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to actively seek to enter into or to strengthen existing international cooperative agreements in magnetic fusion research and development activities of mutual benefit to all parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) assess the adequacy of the supply of manpower in the engineering and scientific disciplines to achieve the purposes of this Act; (2) assure the dissemination of information concerning the national magnetic fusion program; and (3) report annually to Congress concerning activities undertaken pursuant to this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed Senate amended" stage on September 23, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Public Law 96-386.
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The record's latest action, on October 7, 1980: Public Law 96-386.
How likely is it to become law?
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In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MIKE MCCORMACK (D-WA) introduced it on January 28, 1980, and 159 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 28, 1980, 17074 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16821 days ago, on October 7, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePublic Law 96-386.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action