Dim possibilities for labs Fermilab, Argonne caught in budget squeeze.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), January, 2007 | by Kunz, Tona

Byline: Tona Kunz Daily Herald Staff Writer A congressional budget holdup could temporarily close Fermilab, endanger a bid to house a multibillion-dollar international project at the facility and force layoffs at Argonne. Staffs at both facilities are making contingency plans and holding out hope that Congress corrects the funding snafu by Feb.

15, when the current budget freeze resolution expires. Both the Batavia and Darien laboratories look to lose 8 percent budget increases amounting to between $21 million and $38 million if Congress does not pass its fiscal year 2007 budgets. The U.S. Department of Energy, which funds both labs, was one of nine budgets not passed last year. That froze spending at the 2006 levels. Labs under the energy...