Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch today welcomed Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz for National Lab Day on Capitol Hill. Risch also joined with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to formally launch the Senate National Laboratory Caucus, which aims to increase awareness of the reach of the national labs as leaders in developing new breakthrough technologies and discoveries to address some of our nation’s most pressing challenges.
“From coast to coast, the Department of Energy’s national laboratories contribute groundbreaking scientific research in a number of disciplines, including energy innovation, national security, and basic research,” said Risch. “In order to conduct this research, our national labs are equipped with unique assets – be it their location, one-of-a-kind instruments and, most importantly, the world’s leading scientists. My home state is fortunate to have the Idaho National Laboratory located in Idaho Falls, the nation's lead nuclear laboratory and a world leader in securing the ever-growing cyber network. I am glad to have the opportunity to join with Senator Durbin in co-chairing the Senate National Laboratory Caucus and furthering support for our national labs in the United States Senate.”
“The National Labs continue to advance science, clean energy and nuclear security in this country, as they have for decades,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The Labs also provide essential capabilities for university and industrial researchers – nearly 30,000 per year – and advance technology frontiers, such as high performance computing and advanced manufacturing.”
The Idaho National Lab played a major role in National Lab Day, joining with directors and representatives from the other sixteen Department of Energy National Labs to showcase demonstration projects across five theme areas – energy innovation and environmental sustainability, manufacturing innovations, high performance computing, national security, and discovery science.
Video of Risch’s opening remarks at National Lab Day can be found on YouTube or through a high resolution file of the video, which can be downloaded via FTP. Links are below.
YouTube: National Lab Day Remarks
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