A top federal nuclear official this week endorsed continued operation of a Los Alamos National Laboratory research complex, splitting with Obama administration budget officials who had said the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center was no longer needed.

The Office of Management and Budget, in a budget-cutting report released last month, said the Center's "usefulness ... is ebbing," and recommended terminating plans to refurbish the machine's aging components.

The proposed $19 million funding reduction was one of 121 cuts nationwide singled out by the Obama administration as evidence of its commitment to reduced federal spending.

Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have pledged to fight the cut, calling LANSCE vital for Los Alamos and the nation's nuclear weapons program.

Notably, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, also seemed in his questioning of D'Agostino to favor continued operation of LANSCE.  Dorgan chairs the subcommittee responsible for the lab's budget, so his support is critical.