Energy Labs Face 5,200 Layoffs Under GOP Bill, Agency Estimates

The Energy Department would be forced to lay off 5,200 scientists and other personnel at its national laboratories under a bill to address the debt limit approved by House Republicans last month, Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk told lawmakers Wednesday.

The bill (H.R. 2811), which is unlikely to be passed by the Democratically controlled Senate and is opposed by President Joe Biden, would cap federal discretionary spending in exchange for raising the debt limit and avoiding a default. It would repeal many of the clean energy tax credits enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169), a move that ...