The U.S. Senate on Saturday approved $62 million in funding for the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

The funding is part of a $1 trillion spending plan heading to President Barack Obama for his signature.
In a news release, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said: “This federal investment will help support hundreds of jobs in Rochester, and ensure that the laser lab continues to be a leader in high-tech, cutting edge research.”
UR President Joel Seligman thanked the area’s congressional delegation and said the lab’s work “will contribute to upstate’s and the nation’s economy.”
The facility has attracted more than $1.5 billion to New York state and spurs the local economy by creating related spinoff companies, according to Schumer.
The Lab, which now employs about 500 workers, was started in 1970 as a center for the investigation of the interaction of radiation with matter.