The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is in danger of losing millions in federal funding, prompting U.S Rep. Neal Dunn to step in with pleas to reconsider deep cuts to the facility.
Dunn, R-Panama City, penned a June 18 letter to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee to make a case for why the laboratory — launched by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with Florida State University — should continue to receive $38.5 million in federal funding from the foundation’s 2025 Fiscal Year and not dip to $23 million for the 2026 Fiscal Year.
The near $16-million reduction would impact “our national security, global positioning, and economic growth” wrote Dunn, adding a significant loss in funding “will be considerable and the United States would lose or greatly diminish its leadership.”
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory based in Tallahassee, commonly known as the MagLab, is the world’s largest magnetic laboratory.
The facility also includes satellite sites at the University of Florida in Gainesville and Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, making it “the world’s premier facility for studies requiring high magnetic field environments,” according to the foundation’s 222-page 2026 fiscal year Budget Request to Congress.
Dunn, in his two-page letter, pointed out examples of vital areas that could be impaired if funding is reduced. Those areas include research in quantum materials, “which are key to the technologies needed for our national security and technological superiority, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence.”
Another example, in Dunn’s letter, targets rare earth elements that are byproducts of mining that creates a domestic “supply chain of critical minerals” and said the work in this area “reduces our reliance on China.”
In May, when asked by the Tallahassee Democrat if funding reductions would impact the MagLab, a spokesperson for the National Science Foundation said, “There have been no changes to the MagLab budget.”
It’s not yet clear what the impacts could be for the MagLab if significant funding reductions are approved by Congress.
Kathleen Amm, director of the National MabLab, provided a statement to the Democrat and said the following:
“We extend our gratitude to Congressman Neal Dunn and his colleagues for their continued support of the National MagLab. Their endorsement is vital in advancing American research and recognizing the MagLab’s significance as a national resource,” Amm said.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State MagLab in danger of losing millions in federal funding in FY 2026
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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