The bipartisan spending bill advancing on Capitol Hill includes modest increases for many Department of Energy clean energy programs — along with cuts to an office that aims to curb emissions from fossil fuels.
Nuclear energy is getting a big boost. The DOE Grid Deployment Office, created in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, is receiving $60 million. And the Office of Science is slated for $8.2 billion in funding, a $140 million increase over enacted levels.
House and Senate leaders on both sides of the political aisle praised the final compromise, which is an omnibus that funds roughly half the discretionary accounts for the federal government.
DOE funding will lapse if lawmakers fail to pass the bill by the end of the week. Other parts of the government, like the Transportation and Interior departments, would also shut down.
“This bipartisan package will keep America moving forward — strengthening investments to ensure safe and efficient travel and sustaining critical programs as Democrats rebuild America’s infrastructure,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Senate appropriator, said in a statement. “We keep our promises to brave wildland firefighters and protect vital investments to stay the course on historic climate action taken by the Biden administration while safeguarding our public lands.”
With the presidential campaign season entering full swing, both political parties are aiming to avoid a government shutdown.
House Republicans want to show Americans they deserve the White House. President Joe Biden is racing to spend funds in the infrastructure law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to burnish his economic record and green credentials ahead of the presidential election in November.
Overall, the budget measure allocates $50.25 billion to DOE, around $1.8 billion higher than the fiscal 2023 enacted level. But according to House Republicans, the nondefense portion of the DOE budget is being cut two percent below 2023 enacted levels. The weapons-oriented arm of DOE, which controls the nuclear stockpile, would get a six percent increase.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which has long received bipartisan support and backs emerging technologies, would get $460 million, a $10 million cut from last year’s fiscal level.
“The House Republican Conference made a commitment to change the trajectory of federal funding and put an end to wasteful spending, especially on initiatives that received billions of dollars outside of the normal appropriations process,” said House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas). “The final Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills achieve what we set out to do: strategically increase defense spending and make targeted cuts to wasteful nondefense programs.”
Despite some cuts, DOE funding overall fared better than EPA, which is set for an almost $1 billion reduction. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which House Republicans had targeted for big cuts, would get funded again at $3.46 billion. State and community energy programs would also see funding flat at $471 billion.
On the nuclear front, House Republicans say the bill includes $3.6 billion in repurposed infrastructure law funds to boost production of small modular reactors and next-generation nuclear fuel. Another $100 million in repurposed funds will go to a new nuclear workforce training program. The bill includes $1.69 billion for nuclear energy research and development, roughly $212 million above current levels.
The legislation bans Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to China and prohibits DOE funding above $10 million for “foreign entities of concern.” It requires DOE to sell the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.
The DOE Office of Inspector General also would get $86 million, roughly in line with enacted amounts. But a small portion — two-tenths of one percent — of Inflation Reduction Act spending on programs like home…
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