On July 22, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. The $34.97 billion bill is $376 million below President Obama’s request, but $1.5 billion above FY 2010 levels, due in large part to increased funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration and related activities.

The mark-up was short, lasting less than an hour. There was a brief debate on an amendment offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to include $200 million in funding for Yucca Mountain. After concerns were raised in opposition to the amendment by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), Sen. Murray’s amendment failed on a vote of 13 to 16.

The other issue raised at the mark-up was the amount authorized to DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program. The bill provides an additional $10 billion in loan guarantee authority for nuclear reactors, $7 billion in fossil fuel loan guarantees and $380 million in credit subsidies for renewable fuels. Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed regret that they could not provide larger allotments. Citing concerns over the budget, a recent Congressional Budget Office scoring, and the inclusion of $18 billion in loan guarantees in the war supplemental (dropped from the Supplemental war bill in the Senate yesterday), Sen. Dorgan and Sen. Bennett agreed that they were unable to provide additional authority at this time.

Taxpayers for Common Sense was pleased to see some fiscal restraint, but urge Members of Congress to strip the loan guarantee authority entirely before the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is enacted into law. The budget concerns surrounding loan guarantees are real and taxpayers stand to lose billions on the DOE Loan Guarantee Program. The DOE currently has $50 billion in loan guarantee authority already in its coffers and adding further authority is fiscally reckless at a time of high deficits and sluggish economic growth. At a time of economic uncertainty and taxpayer belt tightening, the House and Senate must be frugal in their spending. Granting additional billions in loan guarantee authority sends the wrong message and sets Congress in the wrong direction at a time when cuts in spending to reduce the deficit are so greatly needed.

July 22 Senate Appropriations Committee Press Release.

July 20 Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee Press Release.

For more information, please contact Autumn Hanna at (202) 546-8500 x112 or autumn [at] taxpayer.net.