Funding $25 Million Greater Than What Trump Proposed
By Hank Russell
The House of Representatives approved the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026, which, as part of the package, will provide $135 million to the Brookhaven National Laboratory for its Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point) said the amount is $25 million greater than what President Donald Trump proposed.
The bill, sponsored by Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-Tennessee), would provide appropriations from projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy and several independent agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
According to BNL’s website, the EIC will be a particle accelerator that collides electrons with protons and nuclei to produce snapshots of those particles’ internal structure and will allow researchers to study this “strong nuclear force” and the role of gluons in the matter within and all around us.
LaLota said the funding for BNL will protect approximately 970 Long Island jobs tied to the project.
“This $135 million investment not only keeps construction on schedule and safeguards nearly 1,000 Long Island jobs, it ensures America maintains its edge in nuclear physics, accelerator science, and the breakthroughs that flow from them,” LaLota said. “The President’s request simply fell short. Long Island’s workforce and America’s leadership in science and national security can’t afford shortfalls.”
The congressman also noted that, during FY 2024, he secured $97.9 million for the collider project “as a strong down payment to launch construction. … [W]e’re delivering the resources our region needs to lead in energy innovation, medical research and national defense technologies.”