U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development, said the Energy & Water Appropriations Bill (to be included in the proposed Omnibus bill) has a record level of funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science — which is the main funder of research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Office of Science is reportedly in line for $5.3 billion in FY 2016.
In a release from his office, Tennessee’s senior senator cited the importance of the funding for the lab’s supercomputer initiatives — including a path to once again hosting the world’s fastest computer by 2018 — as well as environmental cleanup in Oak Ridge.
The bill also includes money for a new mercury-treatment facility at Y-12 and improvements to the nuclear infrastructure at ORNL for production and processing of radioisotopes for medicine and industry.
The statement also said there is $6 million in the bill for preservation activities at the K-25 site in Oak Ridge and money for ORNL’s leading role in 3-D printing at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.
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