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President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 calls for the closure of the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Albany and transfer of equipment to facilities on the East Coast.

The change, suggested for efficiency reasons, would result in the loss of about 150 jobs and more than $30 million in annual economic impact to Oregon, according to a news release from the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1104, which represents federal workers at the site.

The budget proposes a gradual shutdown for Albany’s NETL site that would start in 2018 with minimal program decreases. Those would ramp up in 2019 and the local facility’s capabilities would be moved to NETL sites in either Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or Morgantown, West Virginia, by 2020, according to the budget request.

“This is terrible news for the community. The lab has been a fixture here for 70-plus years,” said Wes Hare, Albany City Manager.

“If the proposal is adopted and the budget goes forward, it would be a real blow. My hope is through a deliberative process, that the value of the lab will be recognized and it will remain open for the future,” he said.