Labs Up for Grabs.

Scientists say that a congressional plan to force the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to take bids for the job of managing four of its national laboratories isn't such a great idea. On July 31, 2003 the U.S. House of Representatives approved a 2004 DOE spending bill that would put up for grabs the contracts to manage any DOE lab that has been operated by the same institution for more than 50 years. The labs range from sprawling nuclear weapons centers to specialized research accelerators. All are operated for the government by universities or private firms.