High-energy physics research at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory would receive a modest boost in funding under the terms of the Clinton administration’s budget request for fiscal year 1997.
The proposed budget, which was announced Tuesday, allots $52 million, the same amount as in fiscal year 1996, for continuing construction of the laboratory’s new main injector accelerator. Additional funding for operating and equipment costs would rise to $205.58 million from $202.05 million if the budget is enacted, according to the Department of Energy.
“We are pleased that the congressional budget request provides funding to keep construction on schedule for the main injector,” said Fermilab Director John Peoples Jr.
Peoples said the main injector, which is scheduled to begin operating in 1999, will significantly enhance Fermilab’s research capabilities in particle physics, the study of the smallest dimensions of matter.