June 06, 2011 07:16 PM UTC

Lamborn Wants NREL Cut, Nevermind 5,500 Jobs

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• by: Colorado Pols

We didn’t get a chance to get to this on Friday, but it’s definitely worth mentioning still. As the Denver newspaper reported on Friday, Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn is one of nine GOP House members who sent a letter on Thursday to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development asking that all funding be cut from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden.

That’s right — not a reduction in funding, but a complete elimination of funding. The letter was written by California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock. Among other things, the letter says, “We should not follow the president’s poor planning in increasing the funding for these anti-energy boondoggles.”

Yes, that sounds like a fantastic idea. We’re not sure how a Renewable Energy Laboratory could be “anti-energy,” but let’s just consider the economic consequences alone: NREL creates some 5,500 jobs and contributes $714 million annually to Colorado’s economy. The best way to fix an ailing economy is to, uh, eliminate money…going…into the economy?

Brilliant work, Lamborn. Brilliant.