Letter to the Honorable Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman, Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Lamar Alexander, Ranking Member, Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee

Letter

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent letters to Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, of which he is a member, warning that the funding cuts proposed by the House Republicans in their continuing resolution (H.R. 1) would have a devastating impact on our entire national laboratory system. Durbin vowed to work with the committee to ensure that labs -- including Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory which stand to lose a combined 1,450 jobs under the Republican plan -- can continue to do world-class research at their facilities.

"The House Republican's Continuing Resolution will cost Illinois 1,450 research scientists and support staff at our nationally recognized research labs" said Durbin. "The net effect is to put our research efforts on hold for seven months. This mindless cut is a clear signal that the House bill is not the product of a thoughtful effort. America must cut spending but it cannot abandon its leadership in research and innovation."

H.R. 1, if enacted, would cut 1.1 billion from the FY11 budget request of $5.121 billion for the Office of Science, $899 million from the $2.355 billion EERE budget, and $250 million from the $300 million ARPA-E budget. According to lab directors, this would cause many of the national labs to completely shut down for three months, if not longer.

In his letter, Durbin pointed to the negative impact the cuts would have on the communities that surround Fermilab and Argonne: "Significant cuts to the Labs will be devastating to the local communities surrounding the labs in Batavia and DuPage County. Suppliers and contractors for the labs, as well as the private companies that use the facilities also would be adversely affected by the closures and layoffs."

[Text of the letter below]

February 18, 2011

Senator Dianne Feinstein
Chairman
Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee

Senator Lamar Alexander
Ranking Member
Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee

Dear Chairman Feinstein and Sen. Alexander,

As a new member of the Energy and Water subcommittee, I look forward to working with you on critical funding for the Department of Energy (DOE), and, specifically, the national laboratories. The draconian funding cuts proposed by the House Republicans in their continuing resolution (H.R. 1) to the DOE Office of Science, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) would be catastrophic to our entire national laboratory system, our country's incubators for innovation.

If H.R. 1 were enacted, it would cut $1.1 billion from the FY11 budget request of $5.121 billion for the Office of Science, $899 million from the $2.355 billion EERE budget, and $250 million from the $300 million ARPA-E budget. This would cause many of the national labs to completely shut down for three months, if not longer.

DOE projects that the House-approved cuts to the Office of Science alone would lead to the loss of 10,000 jobs. In my home state of Illinois, Argonne National Laboratory would let go a third of its staff (more than 1,000 employees) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory would let go of a quarter of its staff (450 employees). Significant cuts to the Labs will be devastating to the local communities surrounding the labs in Batavia and DuPage County. Suppliers and contractors for the labs, as well as the private companies that use the facilities also would be adversely affected by the closures and layoffs.

The House irresponsibly cuts critical research and robs 10,000 American workers of their jobs during a very weak economy. This is not the path to economic growth. We need to invest in crucial research that fuels American innovation. Fiscal responsibility demands thoughtful allocation of our resources that will lead us to a stronger economic standing. These draconian cuts to the work of our national labs is ill advised and short-sighted. I look forward to working with you to ensure that our labs continue their world-class research.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

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