Press Releases

Today, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) released the following statement after the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) — formerly known as National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — announced another round of employee layoffs due to federal funding cuts:

“Donald Trump has consistently put our federal workforce on the chopping block. These are people who work to make energy more affordable, conduct groundbreaking climate research, and keep our state up and running. 

“Beyond being some of our country’s brightest minds, these are our community members, our neighbors who have families to support. Trump’s backwards agenda is going to undo the progress we’ve made to combat the climate crisis and have cascading effects on our economy. I’m deeply sorry to the employees whose livelihoods are now in jeopardy.”

Rep. Pettersen represents NLR, based in Golden, Colorado. In May 2025, the lab was forced to lay off 100+ employees. Pettersen has fought for legislation to fund the critical research being done at NLR and called for the administration to reverse course on federal cuts.