U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, on Friday announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, has approved a bill that preserves federal funding for scientific research and development programs that will support work at two Illinois labs – Fermilab in Batavia and Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne

These projects were included in President Obama’s FY2012 Budget and supported by Durbin.  

“We at Fermilab appreciate very much Senator Durbin’s efforts to champion scientific research in the DOE Office of Science and in our national laboratories," said Pier Oddone, director of Fermilab, in a press release. "His support is critical for us at Fermilab in this period of transition."

The bill includes $780 million in funding for the Office of Science’s High Energy Physics account, which is the primary source of funding for Fermilab.