WASHINGTON President Clinton has. signed legislation that provides a $65 million grant to Texas to convert part of the defunct Superconducting Super Collider project into a regional medical treatment and research center for proton cancer therapy.
The grant is part of a $20.7 billion energy and water appropriations bill that was given final approval by the Senate and House earlier this month.
The $65 million grant is considered a key element in the $720 million settlement between Texas and the U.S. Department of Energy to compensate the state for its investment in the $11 billion high-energy physics research project that was killed by Congress last fall.
Under a preliminary agreement announced in July, the state is to receive $145 million in cash, the $65 million grant for the medical center, and $510 million worth of land, buildings, and equipment for its investment in the collider project that was under construction south of Dallas.
When the project was canceled last fall, the state had invested $539 million in it, including more than $400 million in proceeds from the sale of $250 million of general obligation bonds and $250 of lease revenue bonds.
Texas officials will not decide how to reduce the outstanding bond debt until after the final settlement is reached later this year. But they have said they hope to use the $145 in cash from the federal government and the $100 million in unused bond proceeds to significantly reduce the debt.
