The Federal Government's Shutdown and Its Impact on our Department of Energy National Laboratories

Floor Speech

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Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Energy's National Laboratories are vital to our national security, our economy, and our environment. They have often been called ``crown jewels'' of our federal research and development infrastructure, and for good reason. This is why I am extremely concerned about the impacts of this senseless government shutdown on these important facilities--and this is on top of the harmful cuts that they have already had to endure under budget sequestration.

It is worth reminding my colleagues here today that we have seen how our past investments in the national laboratories have paid off when it comes to energy development. DOE labs were key to the development of high-efficiency gas turbines for coal plants, nuclear reactors, and the directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing practices that have led to the shale gas boom of today.

I think it is also important to note that DOE's Office of Science--which oversees most of these national laboratories--is actually the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation, and it operates more than 30 national scientific user facilities whose applications go well beyond energy innovation. Our nation's top researchers from industry, academia, and other federal agencies use these facilities to examine everything from new materials that will better meet our military's needs, to new pharmaceuticals that will better treat disease, to even examining the fundamental building blocks of the universe. I believe that this stewardship of unique scientific research, including the nation's major national user facilities, is another very important role that the Department plays in bolstering our national competitiveness today and in building the industries of the future.

It's no secret that Congress's inability to date to come to an agreement on a sensible budget plan has led to some devastating cuts to many of these important facilities, with serious impacts to our nation in both the short-term and the long-term. Until we resolve the current crisis, even more of our nation's best and brightest will be forced out of work and some of their most critical research tools--for which the U.S. taxpayers contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to build--will have to cease operations. I believe that we are doing damage to the seed corn of our future, and as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I believe that ending this shutdown and reversing these drastic cuts need to be our highest priorities going forward.

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