States Launch Lobbying Blitz For SSC Site

WASHINGTON—Ohio State University physicist William Palmer says he felt like “eollapsing in the corner” after working long hours to help his state complete its proposal for the Superconducting Supercollider. But the september 2 filing deadline was just the beginning of the race for the multi-billion-dollar high-energy physics project. Officials from Ohio and 24 other states barely had time to catch their breath before plunging ahead into the next phase of the campaign, which will close at end of the year when a panel from the National Academies of Sciences and of Engineering draws up its list of best-qualified contenders. “Between now and then,” said Arizona SSC coordinator Ian Macpherson, “every nanosecond counts.” In Louisiana, individuals and associations are blitzing key Department of Energy officials with letters. North Carolina’s team has prepared an hour-long video to be aired around the state this fall. Arizona has hired a Washington lobbyist to keep an ear to the ground for gossip regarding its competitors’ proposals. And South Dakota officials are delivering speeches to community groups all across the north central Great Plains. Though these activities are concurrent with the deliberations of the academy’s Supercollider Site Evaluation committee, they aren’t designed to directly influence committee members. Proposal teams expect the committee to judge each site on technical, environmental and scientific merits alone. Instead, the current high level of activity is aimed at lowering the odds should a state make it to the finals. (There are two sites in Texas and one in New Mexico that have local backing, but none has yet to mount a Washington campaign.) “The more legwork and homework we can do now,” explained Jim Hill, aide to the governor of South Dakota, “the less we have to do after we make the short list.” It is widely believed that the short list won’t be very short, and that it will include sites from each region of the country. “How else are you going to keep broad congressional support (for the SSC] throughout 1988?” asked Kansas’ Terry Smith. Many states also see their work as valuable public relations that will generate good will around Washington for future high-tech projects. The salesmanship isn’t always simple. Michigan SSC coordinator John Hanieski recalled how members of the proposal team compared the SSC to Fermilab’s accelerator in speeches throughout the state. When some people began to con- fuse Fermilab with Fermi IT, a nuclear power plant south of Detroit—the myth that the SSC was a low-level nuclear waste dump facility took hold. “We arranged a public hearing so the opposition could yell and scream at us,” he said. “That’s what you have to do: Show them you have nothing to hide.” SSC teams are also courting state legislators. States that make the short list will need money quickly because of the expected request from DOE for additional site information by March 1. They may also need money for site infrastructure improvement and high-priced lobbying and public relations firms. Friendly Neighbors The size of the project has led many SSC teams into regional coalitions. Said Rick Trombleigh of Idaho, “we’re convinced that no single state, even one as [heavily populated] as California or New York, can by itself win a project of this scope and magnitude.” The Western Governors Association, for example, has agreed to support any western state that makes the best-qualified list. The same goes for the Southern Governors Association and a southern site. West Virginia is supporting Ohio. Alabama and Arkansas are backing Mississippi. And New York, by virtue of having no neighborhood competition, has the support of New Jersey, New England and two Canadian provinces. A number of the states already have hired Washington lobbyists (see accompanying story). “Our lobbyist is monitoring things within DOE, keeping track of any gossi[ that may leak out.” said Louisiana’s Ronnie Duncan. Illinois’ Don Etchison said the state’s lobbying firm is not only furnishing them with information, but also working to secure federal funding for the project. “Appropriations for the current year and next year all have to be shepherded through Congress,” he explained. Etchison cites these efforts as an example of “rising above parochial [state] interests.” But others hold that lobbying for the SSC now will reap tangible benefits when the site is finally chosen. Said Utah’s Randy Moon, “A lobbyist doesn’t influence who gets on the short list. But once you’re on, it’ll help. People’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah, that state’s been active the whole time.’” Many states that haven’t hired a lobbyist are working with representatives that champion the state’s interests full time on Capitol Hill. Others count on well-connected congressional delegations or state officials. “Why would we need to hire a lobbying firm when we’ve got [Gov.] Jim Blanchard?” said Michigan’s Hanieski “He and Congressman Roe [chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee] are old friends from the governor’s days in Congress. Although all teams said it would be improper to formally lobby the NAS committee, several concede that physicists who support their proposals are in contact with committee members. Said New York’s Paul Washington, “The committee has integrity and we don’t think they would be persuaded by being wined and dined. But physicists talk to one another, and we assume that those who support us are going to be chatting us up wherever they go.” Added Ohio’s Palmer, “informal communications are inevitable. “I think it is appropriate to remind the national committee that we are here, that we’re serious, and that we have a technically excellent site.” Selling Yourself The SSC has also provided states with the opportunity for self-promotion. “We felt that hiring a lobbyist now would be paying for efforts to fund the whole project,” explained Jean Coppenbarger of Mississippi, which has hired a public relations firm. “We really want to concentrate on selling Mississippi.” The campaign features a glossy press kit for members of Congress and science editors, as well as an upcoming symposium and a chance for on-site visits. Mississippi is not alone in its emphasis on public relations. Arizona’s Macpherson describes how a CBS Evening News story, which featured the Arizona SSC effort, led to a spot on the MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour that used footage from a videotape produced by the state’s public relations firm. “Reality is important but perceptions are critical,” said Macpherson. “The perception broadcast by Rather and MacNeil is that Arizona is a top contender.” A Cash Commitment Illinois defends its well-organized public relations campaign as essential. “We are spending a lot of time and money to make sure that people know what they need to know,” said project coordinator Dean. “It shows our commitment.” Several states with fewer resources than Illinois bristle at this equation. “We don’t have a million dollars to spend on lobbying or P.R. contracts right now,” said Tennessee’s John Crothers. Regardless of whether Mississippi makes the short list, its team is convinced that the money invested in public relations is well spent. “It’s alerting the nation that Mississippi is breaking out of its agrarian economic base and is serious about the development of technology,” said SSC project officer Lisa Ratzlaff. “A lot of people are surprised that we are even a contender for it.” Colorado’s Randy Harrison spells out other benefits of competing for the SSC. “We’ve established a whole new way of doing business—industry, the universities, and the state development program working hand-in-hand.” These new relationships, he said, are “absolutely important if we are going to be competitive.” Kansas’s Smith doesn’t think the SSC has yet made the nation’s list of mandatory scientific investments. “We need a national debate on as high a plane as possible,” he said. “Either we move this damn thing out of pork barrel arguments. or it’s not going to be built.” Carpenter is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.

States Launch Lobbying Blitz For SSC Site

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