Feb 20, 2006 8:54 pm US/Mountain
Workers At Energy Lab In Golden Get Jobs Back
By Judith Kohler and Colleen Slevin, AP Writers
DENVER (AP) ―
Employees whose jobs at a federal renewable energy lab were cut two weeks ago, only to be restored just before President Bush was set to tour the facility, said Monday that they were relieved but concerned about the nation's commitment to achieving energy independence.
Bush was scheduled to tour the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden Tuesday as he proposes to break the country's addiction to oil as mentioned in his State of the Union address.
Critics, however, questioned the administration's commitment to reducing U.S. reliance on foreign oil after the lab's Feb. 7 announcement of 32 layoffs, including eight researchers, because of a $28 million funding shortfall.
Members of Congress earmarked the money for various energy-related projects across the country, which resulted in cuts at the lab.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., announced late Sunday that the Department of Energy had found money to restore the positions.
Matt Baker, executive director of the group Environment Colorado, said he believes reinstating the jobs "has a lot to do with the president coming to town."
"He should come to town more often," Baker added.
Lab spokesman Gary Schmitz said the lab applauded the DOE for finding the money for the jobs and had started contacting the laid-off employees.
Tina Larney, a temporary employee hired at the suburban lab to work with state and local governments, said even though the jobs are being reinstated, she still questions the government's commitment to solving the nation's energy problems.
"There is technology available now, there is the know-how now. What is lacking is leadership on the large scale at the national level," Larney said during a news conference Monday.
Gary Nakarado, who worked on regulatory issues for 13 years at NREL, said he hadn't yet received a call to return to work. He said he had "a sense of irony" about the layoffs announced just a week after Bush proposed a 22 percent increase in clean-energy research covering coal plants, nuclear energy and solar and wind power.
"This is a little longer in coming than maybe we would have liked," Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., said about the jobs being restored.
Beauprez, whose district includes the lab, said DOE officials told him the money for the positions would come from unappropriated funds. He said efforts have been under way to restore funding since late last year when NREL faced up to 100 job cuts.
The staff was able to save several positions by delaying equipment purchases and cutting transportation and contract expenses.
Bush, who said he wants to drastically cut imports of Middle Eastern oil by 2025, will take part in a panel discussion of energy conservation during his visit Tuesday. The lab, which is run for the Energy Department by the Midwest Research Institute and Battelle, analyzes everything from solar and wind power to biomass and superconductivity.
Energy Department spokesman Craig Stevens said the president wants to double the overall science budget.
"NREL has no peer when it comes to working on renewable energy and I would expect them to be a beneficiary of that increased spending and investment," Stevens said.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., met with Bush last week and said he stressed that the lab is "the crown jewel" of renewable energy research and technology. He said the president indicated he would request additional funds for NREL in the 2007 budget.
Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who joined about 100 members of Congress in November to seek more funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency, said Bush has the opportunity to move the country down the right path.
"It's going to take serious leadership, not just a photo (opportunity)," said Udall, co-chairman of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus.
He said the government has funded only a third of the money the 2005 Energy Policy Act authorized for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The proposed budget for the federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which includes the national lab, is $1.2 billion and amounts to less than a 1 percent increase.
Kateri Callahan, president of the Washington-based Alliance to Save Energy, said Bush's proposed budget for 2007 would reduce energy efficiency programs to a third of their 2002 funding after adjusted for inflation.
"They're robbing programs that can provide immediate relief to explore future solutions," Callahan said.
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