Loss of funding for indirect costs — money spent on maintaining facilities and administration — particularly impacts nuclear energy research labs, including those at the University, as they require state-of-the-art equipment with expensive upkeep. Catherine Hausman, associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy, told The Daily the U.S. is already falling behind other global competitors in clean energy research and development. “My research shows that other countries are surging ahead and the U.S. is lagging behind in clean energy research and commercialization,” Hausman said. “There is a lot of evidence that federal research in energy technologies can advance both economic goals and mitigation of climate damages,” Hausman said. Djokić said she is worried about how its closure will affect nuclear energy system implementation.