Bush budget helps Fermi, Argonne

Failing to fully fund research will blunt America's scientific edge, a federal official warned Tuesday.

President Bush's 2009 budget proposal calls for significant increases in science funding that will aid two local laboratories hurt by cuts this year.

Fermilab in Batavia is requiring 1,900 staff to take time off without pay and Argonne National Lab near Darien has laid off 44 employees.

"These are talented individuals we may not be able to get back again," U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Raymond Orbach said at a news conference.

Tuesday, Fermilab announced it would proceed with plans to let go about 200 people.

Argonne has closed its Intense Pulsed Neutron Source, which studies the movement of atoms in solids and liquids.

"The Pulsed Neutron Source is shut down forever. That's a reopening that will not happen," Orbach said.

Meanwhile the proposed cutting-edge International Linear Collider at Fermilab is also threatened.

Increases in government dollars under the proposed budget will help make both labs whole again, Orbach said. But he worried that Congress may not pass the budget.

"If this request is not honored, I think we're in real trouble," Orbach said.

"There is a real chance we will lose our competitive edge as a country. I regard this as a critical year for American competitiveness."

Fermilab officials took a cautious approach also.

"It's a long way before enactment," Communications Director Judy Jackson said. She added, "we're pleased to see the president's budget recommendation, if enacted, would put Fermilab and high-energy physics back on the trajectory they were."

The Fermilab layoffs should occur around April 1.

Government funding for Argonne went from $390 million in 2007 to $381 million in 2008. The proposed funding in 2009 is $418 million.

At Fermilab, the budget was reduced from $347.7 in 2007 to $321 million in 2008. In 2009, the funding request is $379 million.