Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand urge Senate Appropriations Committee to provide robust federal funding to Brookhaven National Lab
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) recently sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, urging members to support funding for Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18).
The lab is home to the National Synchrotron Light Source II and serves over 2,500 visiting scientists, users and students each year who conduct research there.
“Brookhaven is an asset to New York and the nation, and our continued support of the lab’s cutting-edge research and development must be a priority if we as a nation are to remain competitive and achieve the important goals of strengthening our national and homeland security, lessening our dependence on foreign oil, and creating good-paying jobs,” Gillibrand said.
The letter follows the release of the Trump Administration’s proposed budget, which would reduce federal funding for the lab by over $110 million, lead to more than 600 layoffs at the facility and close the Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials.
“The President’s proposed Department of Energy budget cut is a cut to our future, a cut to our knowledge, a cut to our research and a cut to good-paying Long Island jobs,” Schumer said. “These kinds of cuts not only hurt us today but they hurt the future jobs and the companies of tomorrow who would otherwise plant their roots on Long Island.”
