# Plain Language Summary: Russian and Belarusian Workers Ban at Energy Labs

This bill would prevent people who are citizens of Russia or Belarus from working at the Department of Energy's national laboratories. These are the government-run research facilities across the country where scientists and engineers work on energy research, nuclear technology, and other advanced projects. If this bill becomes law, the Department of Energy would be required to stop hiring Russian and Belarusian nationals and would need to remove anyone currently employed from these positions.

The practical effect is straightforward: any Russian or Belarusian citizen working at places like Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Brookhaven, or other national labs would lose their job. This includes researchers, engineers, technicians, and support staff. The bill essentially treats these two nationalities as a security risk and bars them from accessing these sensitive facilities and the research happening there.

This is a security-focused measure, likely driven by concerns about protecting classified or sensitive energy research and technology from foreign access. The bill doesn't appear to have exceptions for people with special circumstances or long-standing employment—it's a blanket prohibition based solely on nationality. For the labs themselves, this could mean losing some skilled workers and potentially disrupting ongoing research projects, though the government would presumably reassign or hire replacement staff from other countries or U.S. citizens.

A bill to prohibit nationals of the Russian Federation and Belarus from working in Department of Energy National Laboratories.

Barrasso, John

 <p>This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to take actions to, immediately after the enactment of this bill, terminate the employment of all nationals of Russia and Belarus (other than such nationals who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States) working in DOE National Laboratories.</p> <p>DOE must prohibit such nationals from working in such laboratories until (1) the armed forces of Russia and any country that is an ally of Russia are no longer present in Ukraine, and (2) all sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia that began on February 24, 2022, have been terminated.</p>