Lujan Secures Amendment Supporting National Labs in House Infrastructure Package

Statement

U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after the House approved his amendment supporting America's National Labs as part of the Moving Forward Act. Congressman Luján's amendment invests $6 billion to modernize the infrastructure of national laboratories and create good-paying jobs.

"As America faces the greatest public health crisis in modern history, our National Labs have lent their expertise and state-of-the-art facilities to combat COVID-19. These scientists and researchers deserve our full support to tackle the ongoing pandemic as well as future scientific and technological challenges," said Luján. "I'm proud to have secured this amendment to give our National Labs the necessary resources to continue their critical work, preserve America's leadership in innovation, and create much-needed jobs in a time of economic uncertainty."

BACKGROUND:

The Restore and Modernize Our National Labs Act, which was included in the Democratic infrastructure package, provides funding to the Department of Energy (DOE) for deferred maintenance, critical infrastructure needs, and modernization of national laboratories.

Congressman Luján recently led a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in a call for increased funding for infrastructure investments at America's National Labs as a way to create jobs and jump start the nation's economic recovery.

Source