In good news, the House passed H.R. 589 which included the Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act I helped develop with Congressman Randy Hultgren. This bill would authorize comprehensive policy guidance for DOE’s Office of Science for the first time in its history. We need to unleash the power of our national laboratories like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to give researchers in the public and private sector the tools and freedom they need to unlock a new wave of innovation.
Click here to watch my remarks on the House floor.
The Office of Science manages a portfolio including research in super-computing, materials science, nuclear physics, advanced biofuels, fusion energy, climate modeling, high-energy physics, and a number of other areas across the spectrum of fundamental and applied research.
H.R. 589 also includes the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act, which I co-sponsored again this year. By providing the tools and resources to nuclear scientists and engineers, we are able to lay the groundwork for a future where reliable, clean nuclear energy is a major source of our electricity generation.
H.R. 589 is a bipartisan bill, and given the urgent challenge of climate change and growing competition around the world in many of these key research areas, I plan to keep working with the Senate to get this bill signed into law this year.
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