WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expressed their disapproval Wednesday to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on a proposed 11% cut in the Department of Energy’s budget for the labs.
“I love the national labs, they deliver tremendous value to us in our history, and they will in the future,” Wright said when asked about the cuts by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “I’m actually very open to expanding the lab budget back a little bit from where the current proposal is. I’ve been voicing that… I am keen, actually, to grow the budget for our national labs.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the committee, said in his opening remarks at a DOE budget hearing with Wright as witness that “just yesterday” he heard from the national labs that the fiscal 2026 budget request would cut funding for the labs by $2.75 billion, or 11% compared to fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025. “An estimated loss of more than 7,700 jobs once fully implemented,” Heinrich added.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who was forcibly removed and handcuffed by FBI personnel at a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles last week, told Wright there was a “disconnect between what you say are priorities and your budget request.”
“When you came to California, you reaffirmed your commitment to the national labs,” Padilla, whose state includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and Sandia National Laboratories, said to Wright. Padilla added the labs were important for maintaining the United States’ “competitive advantage and security.”
“So unless I got that wrong, how do you expected the United States to lead the world when your budget proposal seems to decimate our research and development capabilities?” Padilla said.
When Wright started to respond that “it does hurt me to cut expending in science,” Padilla interrupted saying, “then don’t do it. Then don’t do it. Then don’t even propose it.”
Padilla said that spending reductions “would also lead to staff reductions in the national labs.” Heinrich, who has Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in his state, told the Exchange Monitor after the hearing that his biggest concern with the cut was “losing talent, full stop.”
“When I go home I hear from really talented engineers about people being let go in their departments that, you know, we can’t replace those people very easily. They’re really uniquely positioned to do the work that they do,” Heinrich told the Monitor.
Outside the hearing, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) told the Monitor “for the national labs, absolutely there’s a concern.” Cortez Masto, whose state includes Nevada National Security Site, said she and her team are monitoring the funding that comes into Nevada National Security Site and looking at all the programs now.
Meanwhile, alongside a slew of other lawmakers that said Wright did not respond to their letters, Heinrich said he also had not received a response to his letters to the Secretary. Wright said, “my schedule is very tough.”
“I’m sorry, I should not have to spend time in these hearings on this,” Heinrich said. “It’s a simple communication that I want something formally in writing on… I’m just asking you to do what every Secretary of Energy has always done and respond to my letters.” Wright responded, “You bet, you’ll get a response.”
