The House Appropriations Committee released its fiscal 2019 energy and water spending bill Sunday that includes sizable increases for national defense nuclear weapons activities, the Army Corps of Engineers’ infrastructure priorities, and the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
The bill provides a $1.5 billion increase over fiscal 2018 levels, and an $8 billion increase in Trump’s fiscal 2019 request.
“Funding is targeted toward national security efforts — including nuclear weapons activities — and energy and water infrastructure investments,” the committee said.
Yucca Mountain would see a $100 million increase from last year’s fiscal levels, providing a total of $267.7 million. “Funding above the budget request will be used to accelerate progress toward meeting the federal government’s legal obligation to take responsibility for storing the nation’s nuclear waste,” according to a committee summary.
But the biggest increases would go to the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons division, which makes up nearly half of the agency’s budget. The new energy and water appropriations bill would provide a total of $15.3 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons security programs, which includes weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation activities, and Naval reactors.
The funding is a $644 million increase above fiscal year 2018 enacted levels and a $222 million above the president’s budget request. Just over $11 billion is slated for weapons activities.
“This funding will uphold the nation’s nuclear deterrence posture, maintain the safety and readiness of our weapons stockpile, and allow the U.S. to meet any nuclear threat,” the committee said.
Another big winner is water infrastructure. The Army Corps of Engineers would get $7.28 billion to “provide a much needed influx of funds into the nation’s water resources infrastructure.”
Much of the increases come at the expense of renewable energy and efficiency programs.
Energy programs funding stands at $13.4 billion, which is a $504 million increase above fiscal 2018 enacted levels to support an “all-of-the-above” energy resource policy.
Coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil fuel technologies received $785 million in funding, which is a $58 million increase from current funding levels. The funds “will help the country make greater use of our rich natural energy resources and help keep down energy costs,” the committee said.
Nuclear energy activities also received $1.2 billion for fiscal 2019, a $128 million increase above fiscal 2018 enacted level.
Meanwhile, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs are cut by $243 million compared to fiscal 2018 levels. The committee said these resources have “already received significant investments in recent years,” the committee said in explaining the cuts.
Renewable energy groups expressed disappointment Monday over the cuts.
The bill “tips the scale to fossil fuels and nuclear at a time when the rest of the world is doubling down on renewable energy investment,” said Todd Foley, senior vice president for policy at the American Council on Renewable Energy.
“While we are still early in the appropriations process, we urge Congress to strike a more balanced approach in the nation’s energy R&D spending and acknowledge the growing role for renewable energy and storage as part of the nation’s energy mix,” Foley said.
