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Politics & Government

Fermilab Director: 'I Don't Expect Any Issues' of Furloughs or Layoffs for Balance of Fiscal Year

Part 1 of a Multipart Series on Fermilab's Future: Pier Oddone tells staff that he sees no problems for the remaining part of this fiscal year. Fermilab is asking for flat funding in FY 2014.

Pier Oddone says the state of Fermilab is good, furloughs or layoffs aren't going to happen due the federal government sequester and the budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is likely to be flat.

The Fermilab director address the staff via streamed video on April 25.

"First of all, we are adjusted to a sequestered budget," Oddone said in his opening remarks. "The House and Senate have to give their blessings, (but) I don't expect any issues in terms of furloughs or layoffs for the remaining part of this fiscal year."

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President Barack Obama put out his draft of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and Fermilab—and science in general—is well-represented, Oddone said.

"This is the first step in the annual federal budget cycle and gives us a good idea of what we can expect for next year's budget," he said in his column in Fermilab Today. "The request contains essentially flat funding for our base scientific program, with a much-needed one-time allocation of funds for improvements to our utility systems. 

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Oddone says Fermilab has "a momentus year ahead," which includes the restart of the accelerator complex and the development and construction of many new projects.

"This budget, while constrained, allows us to make steady progress and improve the foundation for our future," he said.

The best news, he said, is the one-time allocation of $35 million for badly needed work on some of Fermilab's critical utility systems. Core components of these systems are 40 years old.

"This funding will allow us to bring them up to modern standards needed to support our lab's future programs," Oddone said.

The bulk of the lab's funding comes from the Office of High Energy Physics. The request for next year is $368 million, up slightly from the $366 million Oddone expects to receive in FY2013.

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