House appropriators on Tuesday sought to increase funding to combat global warming, releasing a fiscal year 2020 energy and water spending bill that rejects President’s Trump’s proposed budget cuts.
The bill would increase spending by nearly $2 billion from previously enacted 2019 levels, totaling $46.4 billion in funding aimed at energy innovation and mitigating the effects of climate change.
The spending bill includes funding for the Department of Energy and related agencies like the Interior Department.
“At its heart” the energy and water bill is “an infrastructure and climate bill,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee’s energy and water panel.
This bill makes “critical investments” in combating climate change, strengthening water infrastructure, responsibly funding the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal, and ensuring low-income households across the country have energy-efficient and more livable homes, said Kaptur.
The bill does not include the president’s proposed “short-sighted cuts” across the Energy Department, Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, the chairwoman said.
The bill completely reverses the president’s proposed plan to zero out funding for the Energy Department’s loan guarantee programs, which are used to fund innovative clean energy technologies.
“These investments keep our nation at the forefront of global energy innovation, enable American companies to ship goods efficiently, and provide water and electricity to tens of millions of Americans,” Kaptur added.
The Republican-led Senate will also have its say on the spending bill, and the two chambers’ versions will have to be reconciled in negotiations.
