National labs need funding boost to restart economy and for national security, says Newhouse

Investing in the nation’s national laboratories would help jump start the economy and increase the nation’s competitiveness, according to Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland is one of 17 Department of Energy labs across the nation. It employs about 4,700 people, the majority in the Tri-Cities.

Newhouse was among eight members of Congress to lead an effort joined by 27 others, to ask U.S. House leadership to consider modernizing national labs as a way to bolster the economy and put people back to work in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Modern, reliable infrastructure at the national laboratories is critical to support world-class science that provides a strong foundation for the nation’s economic competitiveness, prosperity and security,” said the letter signed by Newhouse and 34 other members of Congress.

Investing in the nation’s lab infrastructure would create thousands of well-paying construction jobs and help attract the best and brightest scientists to national service, the letter said.

The U.S. faces increasing competition in Europe and Asia for the best scientists as they build state-of-the-art facilities.

“This does not just pose an economic threat to the United States, but also a national security threat,” the letter said.

“An infrastructure investment would accelerate the construction of world-class facilities and scientific instruments to stay ahead of this competition and make sure the U.S. remains the most secure and most attractive country in the world for scientific discovery and innovation,” it said.

Congress would make the decision about how any infrastructure funding would be distributed, but “PNNL would welcome support for future projects and equipment that would hasten scientific discovery and other critical research,” PNNL said in a statement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested spending on infrastructure in the next phase of the response to the coronavirus pandemic and infrastructure spending is backed by President Donald Trump, according to the Energy Communities Alliance.

However, infrastructure spending has met resistance from some senior Republicans, according to the alliance, which includes local governments in communities with a strong DOE presence, including the Tri-Cities.

The alliance said additional economic support is “likely,” with infrastructure spending a “maybe.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 10:09 AM.