House leaders urged U.S. to rejoin ITER.

U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Ralph Hall (D-TX), along with three other Members of the House Science Committee sent a letter to the Department of Energy, urging that the U.S. join the international fusion energy project known as ITER. The Members who joined Boehlert and Hall in sending the letter to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham were Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), George Nethercutt(R-WA), and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI).

The letter calls ITER "one of the most important endeavors being undertaken by the international energy science community" and urges U.S. participation to "ensure that our domestic fusion program is strong and that a new generation of scientists is inspired to work in this area." Boehlert and Hall have been pushing the U.S. toward participation for several years. In November 2001, they wrote to Secretary Abraham, urging him to begin sending a representative to the international planning sessions for ITER as a necessary precursor to U.S. participation.