SENATORS CHUCK SCHUMER AND HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND REPRESENTATIVE TIM BISHOP WELCOME $13 MILLION DONATION TO BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY

Schumer, Clinton and Bishop Commend News of Private Sector Funding for Continued Operation of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representative Tim Bishop issued the following statement welcoming news of a $13 million private sector donation to Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for the operation of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC):

"This generous donation is great news for Brookhaven National Lab, which will now be able to restore operation of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider providing scientists with the ability to study key elements of physics, including the origins of our universe. We are extremely grateful for the private donation, which demonstrates just how important the RHIC is to the scientific community. Physicists from all over the world utilize this critical facility, making it an international treasure attracting the brightest scientific minds to Long Island. This gift exemplifies the significant interest of private citizens in the advancement of science and underscores the need for greater funding for physics by this Administration. Although we appreciate the private financing for this year's RHIC operations, it does not excuse the President from submitting a better budget to Congress which allows this world-class research to move forward."

Senators Schumer and Clinton and Representative Tim Bishop met with the Director of the Office of Science for the U.S. Department of Energy, Dr. Raymond Orbach, and sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Bodman seeking additional funding to make up for the $20 million shortfall in President Bush's budget for fiscal year 2006. The Administration's funding short-changed some of BNL's major scientific projects, which has cost BNL not only operation time of the RHIC, but also local jobs. Schumer, Clinton and Bishop will continue to fight for the remainder of the much needed funding from within the Energy Department's budget and press President Bush to provide adequate funding in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2007. The grant is a result of the leadership of Jim Simons and a group of his partners at Renaissance Technologies, an investment management company. Mr. Simons is a member of the Board of Directors of Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), and President of Renaissance Technologies Corporation.