GovernmentExecutive.com

President Bush's effort to push for the development of alternative energy resources has hit an awkward bump. You'll remember that the president pushed for energy research in his State of the Union address. But a week later, the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced it would lay off 32 people due to a $28 million budget shortfall (which Energy officials blamed on congressional earmarking). Then DOE shifted some money around and the employees were hastily reinstated last weekend, the New York Times reports--just in time for the president's visit to the Golden, Colo., facility. "I recognize that there has been some interesting, let me say, mixed signals when it comes to funding," Bush acknowledged at a panel discussion at the lab.