ICYMI: Senator Murray Visits PNNL in Sequim, Vows to Protect Federal Funding for National Labs

***PHOTOS HERE***

Sequim, WA - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) Sequim campus, which houses the only marine research facilities in the Department of Energy's (DOE) national lab complex. The Sequim campus is focused on marine-based research that helps the nation achieve energy innovation and maintain robust, secure coasts. PNNL's testbed in Sequim Bay is an ideal testing location for a variety of technologies-from new energy systems to AI-enabled maritime technologies-that link Sequim Bay through an energetic tidal channel to the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Puget Sound.

Senator Murray toured PNNL's new Bench to Bay Deployment and Applied Sciences Laboratory. This lab allows scientists to engineer lab equipment and deploy it directly into marine environments, a unique capability in the national lab complex. Senator Murray secured $21.3 million in FY24 through DOE's Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) to directly support the construction of this new facility.

"Trump has launched an all-out attack on science and research in this country-and I'm doing everything I can to stop it," said Senator Murray. "PNNL does critical work to study marine environments, develop new renewable energy technology, and keep Washington state and the country safe from threats by securing our coasts. This is exactly why investing in research matters. I will continue to push back against the Trump administration's proposed cuts to research at our national labs."

PNNL is one of the national lab complex's top labs for research funding through the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NNSA's nuclear nonproliferation work and EERE programs have both been targeted for elimination or draconian cuts by both the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress. Thanks to Senator Murray's leadership on the Energy and Water Development (EWD) Appropriations Subcommittee, she has successfully fought to protect significant funding for PNNL.

For FY26, Senator Murray secured $3.1 billion for EERE, $2.212 billion above Trump's budget request. While President Trump has worked to eliminate renewable energy research funding, Senator Murray has fought hard to preserve the EERE programs that directly support PNNL-Sequim's research, including securing $60 million for Marine National Laboratoriesand $24 million for the Powering the Blue Economy Initiative, both under DOE's WPTO.

In the FY26 funding bills, Senator Murray also secured $25.40 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Within NNSA, the bill includes $2.415 billion for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN), $130.89 million above the FY26 budget request. Republicans cut DNN by $185 million in their FY25 CR, and Trump requested an even lower funding level for the account for FY27. DNN programs provide 30% of PNNL's funding from the Department, so Senator Murray prioritized protecting this funding in the FY26 funding bill she negotiated as much as possible to avoid significant layoffs at the lab.

Senator Murray is continuing to work to protect these programs and their funding in the FY27 appropriations bills.

###