Letter to Paul Ryan, Chairman, House Budget Committee, U.S. House of Representatives and Harold Rogers, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee, U.S. House of Representatives - Rgearding Funding Cuts from the DOE Office of Science
Letter
Dear Chairmen Ryan and Rogers,
We write to express our concern regarding the impact of the recently proposed House Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR). This proposal seeks to cut $1.1 billion from the DOE Office of Science, and $899 million from DOE's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This action would most likely force Brookhaven National Lab Brookhaven in New York to completely shut down core research facilities that have kept the United States at the cutting edge of scientific and medical technology for over 60 years.
Brookhaven National Lab is a internationally renowned laboratory that has hosted seven Nobel Prize winning discoveries and groundbreaking science and technological research. Brookhaven currently employs approximately 3,000 scientists, technicians, and support staff to do this research. Unfortunately, the House proposed CR threatens the important and innovative work of this lab. The reduction of this necessary funding through the proposed CR would require Brookhaven to potentially lay off in excess of 930 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff - one third of the Lab's workforce. The proposed CR cuts would force Brookhaven to close its National Synchrotron Light Source facility, which would displace 330 workers and 2,200 visiting scientists. The cuts would also curtail the work of Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider facility which would displace over 300 more workers engaging in promising new research.
Now more than ever we need to grow these innovative sectors and make investments that will strengthen our global competitiveness. This House proposed CR simply fails to do that. We urge you to reconsider these cuts and allow the men and women of Brookhaven National Lab to continue their extraordinary research confident that their government is behind them. We look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer U.S Representative Tim Bishop
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