[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5640]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I wanted to take a few minutes to share 
with my colleagues a success story involving the building of a Federal 
laboratory project with funds from three separate Federal agencies.
  Several years ago, as part of the efforts to remediate some of the 
excess facilities at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in my home State 
of Washington, the Department of Energy decided to tear down virtually 
all of the laboratory facilities in the so-called 300 Area to remediate 
and make the area available for future industrial uses.
  We all shared the goal of cleaning up the 300 Area--it is an 
important part of the ongoing cleanup work at Hanford. But because the 
300 Area was home to approximately 1,000 scientists, engineers and 
support staff for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL, we 
know that we would have to find a new place for them to conduct their 
work.
  As I am sure you know, building a replacement laboratory to 
accommodate 1,000 people is no easy task under any set of 
circumstances. And the broad spectrum of work being done by these 
scientists--national security, homeland security, science research--
both increased the challenge and brought a number of Federal agencies 
together. This unique situation brought together three agencies--the 
Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration and 
the Department of Homeland Security--to create a unique solution, 
building the Physical Sciences Facility.
  This arrangement--three separate agencies with funding in two 
separate appropriations bills--isn't common in the Federal Government 
and isn't easy to accomplish. But with a lot of hard work, the $225 
million Physical Sciences Facility was constructed on time and within 
budget over 5 years' time. It has allowed the unique capabilities at 
PNNL to continue to be able to support critical missions for several 
government agencies.
  I appreciate the leadership of PNNL Director Len Peters and Mike 
Lawrence, followed by Director Mike Kluse, who were determined to make 
the Physical Sciences Facility a reality. I would also like to 
recognize Carrie Desmond and Doug Clapp, both of whom used to work on 
my staff, for helping to make this project happen in the face of odds 
that were unbelievable at times, including budget requests that were 
not always sufficient to keep the project on schedule.
  Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the dedication of the new 
laboratory on April 19, but I will be there in spirit. I congratulate 
all of the people at PNNL, the Department of Energy, the National 
Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security 
who have worked to make the Physical Sciences Facility at the Pacific 
Northwest National Laboratory an important asset for the Federal 
Government.

                          ____________________