Durbin: Fermi and Argonne labs fare well in budget proposal

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin Tuesday touted federal money for Fermilab in Batavia and Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont that’s included in a budget proposal before Congress.

Durbin said the plan would send $797 million to an Office of Science account that provides for 90 percent of the lab’s funding. And the lab would get $169 million for other projects and building upgrades on the grounds.

The Office of Science program helps fund Argonne is in line for $1.6 billion, and $479 million would be available nationwide for supercomputer research that includes work at Argonne.

The federal budget was the subject of serious debate in 2013 and a government shutdown didn’t end up significantly hampering either lab.

The House and Senate both still have to vote on the budget proposal.