Published in Last Word
The House Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee approved a $34 billion bill to fund the Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and related agencies in Fiscal Year 2015.
Research and development for coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil energy technologies is funded at $593 million—an increase of $30.9 million above FY2014. Funding for nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration activities is up by $9.8 million to a total funding level of $899 million. Renewable energy programs are cut by $113 million to $1.8 billion.
USACE is funded at $5.5 billion, an increase of $25 million above FY2014 and $959.5 million above the President’s budget request. Focusing on public safety, job creation, and the economy, the bill allocates $2.3 billion for navigation projects and studies—with $1.1 billion going to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund—and $1.7 billion to support flood and storm damage reduction activities, including $326 million for the most critical dam safety improvements. The measure prohibits the Corps from revising regulations on the discharge of fill material and the federal definition of water under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.
The bill appropriates $11.4 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons program and $5.6 billion for environmental management activities, including $4.8 billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup to safely clean sites contaminated by previous nuclear weapons production.
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