Sponsors (4)
The bill makes a substantial, multi-year investment to modernize and secure national lab infrastructure and core scientific capabilities, at the trade-off of higher federal spending and risks from funding concentration, administrative burdens, and potential delays if appropriations are insufficient.
Scientists and researchers will get modernized laboratory infrastructure and reduced deferred maintenance, improving safety, reliability, and research capacity at national labs.
State and local governments, labs, and researchers will gain multi-year funding predictability and greater planning/transparency through annual project lists and a required 10-year plan, aiding project prioritization and congressional oversight.
Scientists and national research infrastructure will receive a dedicated funding floor (at least one-third) for the Office of Science, sustaining core user facilities and advanced computing capabilities important to scientific competitiveness and sensitive research.
Taxpayers and the federal budget face an ongoing $5 billion per year authorization, increasing federal spending that could raise budget pressures or crowd out other priorities if appropriated.
Local communities, lab contractors, and researchers risk project delays and economic uncertainty if annual appropriations fall short of the authorized amounts.
State governments and other DOE program areas may have reduced flexibility because directing at least one-third of funds to the Office of Science could limit the ability to address urgent infrastructure needs in programs like Environmental Management or Nuclear Energy.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes $5B per year (FY2026–FY2030) to restore and modernize DOE national laboratory facilities and requires a cross-Office implementation strategy with annual project lists.
Introduced July 17, 2025 by Bill Foster · Last progress July 17, 2025
Directs the Department of Energy to fund and carry out restoration, deferred maintenance, and modernization projects at DOE National Laboratories and requires annual project lists to appropriations and authorizing committees through fiscal year 2030. Authorizes $5,000,000,000 per year for FY2026–FY2030 for those projects, with at least one-third of each year’s funds managed by the Office of Science, and requires a finalized, implementable facilities-and-infrastructure strategy across multiple DOE offices with a 10-year plan and project priority lists submitted within one year of enactment.