House appropriators released an energy spending bill Tuesday that curbs President Trump’s proposed cuts by nearly $4 billion, while prioritizing nuclear weapons spending and infrastructure development.
“National security is our number-one priority, and this bill will fund essential programs that maintain our nuclear deterrence posture in the face of growing global threats – including North Korea and other countries that are testing the tolerance of the international community,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen. “Further, this legislation will make important investments in our energy development and water infrastructure to keep our economy growing and to continue the country’s lead in essential energy technology and innovation.”
Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., raised concerns last week with Energy Secretary Rick Perry that the cuts his agency proposed would put the U.S. at a disadvantage on international research and development, including cutting-edge research on fusion power plants.
The bill would give the Energy Department $37.56 billion, which is $209 million below the fiscal 2017 spending level and $3.65 billion above President Trump’s budget request.
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, chairman of the Appropriations Committee’s energy subcommittee, said the bill “strikes a responsible balance between the modernization and safety of our nuclear weapons, advancing our national infrastructure, and strategic investments in basic science and energy R&D.”
Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget request for the Energy Department proposed major cuts to agency programs to spur clean coal and renewable energy alike. Although the House kept spending on renewable energy lower than under the Obama administration requests, it did pump up spending well above Trump’s proposal.
“Renewable energy programs, which have already received significant investments in recent years, are cut by $986 million compared to fiscal year 2017 and increased by $468 million compared to the president’s budget request,” according to the committee.
“Research and development to advance coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil energy technologies, which will help the country make greater use of our rich natural energy resources and help keep down energy costs, are funded at $635 million – a decrease of $33 million below the fiscal year 2017 enacted level and $355 million above the budget request,” it said.
Nuclear energy also got a big bump up from Trump’s proposed budget, receiving nearly $1 billion for research and development and other programs. The amount was nearly $300 million more than Trump’s request.
But the big money went to weapons programs under the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which received $13.9 billion for weapons activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation, and naval reactors. It matched Trump’s budget with a $976 million increase above the fiscal 2017 spending levels.
The infrastructure piece of the energy spending bill was directed at the Army Corps of Engineers, with $6.16 billion in funding. The spending level is an increase of $120 million above the fiscal 2017 enacted level and $1.16 billion above Trump’s budget request.
“The bill focuses funding on activities that will have an immediate impact on public safety, job creation, and economic growth, including those that help increase the functionality of our ports and waterways,” the committee said.
