Federal Research

Management problems continue to hinder accurate and timely reporting of the Superconducting Super Collider's cost and status. Although the project's total cost cannot be reliability estimated, GAO believes that costs have more than doubled since the Super Collider was first proposed to Congress in 1987--from $5.3 billion to more than $11 billion. Because the project's prime contractor and the Department of Energy (DOE) have been slow to disclose project costs and anticipated cost increases, Congress has not been receiving timely and complete information. The project is now at a crossroads, and key funding decisions must be made. The federal share of the project's cost, now capped at $5.6 billion, will have to increase. DOE now expects to receive only $1.4 billion from nonfederal sources--$400 million from foreign sources and $1 billion from Texas. As a result, Congress will have to boost federal funding substantially if the project is to be completed.