WASHINGTON D.C., Nov. 20 –Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) has joined Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA-02), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, to introduce legislation highlighting the critical U.S. investment in research by declaring 2013 the “Year of the Federal Lab.”

House Resolution 815 was introduced Nov. 16, and states that federal laboratories have been and continue to be at the cutting edge of scientific and technological advancement. Congressman Hultgren is an original cosponsor of the resolution.

“National laboratories- such as our own Fermi and Argonne- are at the forefront of U.S. innovation, which ultimately creates jobs and strengthens the middle class,” Hultgren said. “In order to keep them there, we have to think long-term with our research funding.”

“All of our federally-funded labs, and there are more than 100 of them, deserve more credit and attention for their important role in keeping the United States as the world’s economic and innovation leader,” Fattah said. “Are we content to fall behind in the areas of energy, space, science, and technology, or will we make the necessary investments to win the future? …We cannot maintain world leadership on the cheap.”

The Resolution highlights all the national energy laboratories as well as more than 100 other labs that serve as federally funded research and development centers, or are owned, leased, or otherwise used by a Federal agency and funded by the Federal Government. 

Earlier this year, Congressman Hultgren was named a Champion of Science by The Science Coalition, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of the nation’s leading public and private research universities dedicated to sustaining strong federal funding of basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation and drive America’s global competitiveness.

The University of Illinois and the University of Chicago are members of The Science Coalition.

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