A program worth paying for
Corey Taule
October 15, 2009
Idaho Falls Post Register
This year's budget battles will be brutal. Declining state revenues have placed public schools and colleges in the crosshairs. Every request will be scrutinized. Those not deemed necessary -- or unavoidable -- will be viewed with skepticism.
But one budget battle ought to be over before it gets started: the appropriation for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies.
The past couple of years, local lawmakers scraped together $1.6 million annually to pay faculty from state universities working on CAES projects. Some grumbling took place. CAES even got between Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and the federal government, which, given Otter's fondness for the 10th Amendment, isn't the best place to be.
But the nature of the work and promise of a return on that investment got CAES funding, though less than the $3 million annual appropriation requested.
Last fall, when Otter toured CAES, director Harold Blackman set a goal of bringing in $5 million in new funding by this month.
This week, CAES reported that it had nearly tripled that goal, bringing in $13.9 million since July of last year. This collaborative project between Idaho National Laboratory and the state's three primary universities has turned an important corner. It can now be viewed less as an appropriation than an investment.
What's the state's return? According to Blackman: 316 new jobs throughout the state and an additional $22.4 million in sales. The best part for legislators is that the involvement of the university system spreads this money around Pocatello, Boise and Moscow.
Another selling point is the work being done at CAES. A big chunk of that $13.9 million comes from a project intended to extend the life of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors. That's a vital mission. So are other CAES initiatives: helping develop clean coal; making sure the next generation of reactors lives 80 to 100 years; reducing waste in fuel processing and making sure proliferation isn't possible should some nuclear material find itself in the wrong hands; and developing bio-energy products.
No government program is sacrosanct. And when your schools are on the chopping block, everything should be on the table.
To this point, however, CAES has proven itself. The state has enjoyed a large return on its investment and everyone stands to benefit from the work being done there.
A down economy is a bummer. It can also be an opportunity. Another $1.6 million is an easy call. Kicking that up to $3 million would be a tough sell. But CAES estimates that investment could result in $25 million annually.
Sometimes, you've got to roll the dice. CAES exceeded expectations. Does it not make sense to increase the state's investment and see what CAES can do with it?
Originally posted at http://www.postregister.com/story.php?accnum=1019-10152009&today=2009-10-15%2000:00:00
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