Rome, NY (WIBX) - Rome Labs is getting local support from nationally elected congressional officials.

U.S. Congressmen Richard Hanna and Bill Owens, along with Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, co-wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, urging him to continue his support of the work done at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome.

Panetta recently proposed two rounds of Base Re-Alignment and Closure (BRAC) cuts for 2013 and 2015.

According to their letter, Rome Lab is considered "a pivotal component of our nation's 21st century defense initiative" and supports more than 2,800 jobs, both directly and indirectly related to the lab.

Rome Labs was previously on the chopping block in 2005, during the last round of BRAC cuts. It, along with the DFAS were spared.

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