Sen. Bingaman: President’s Budget Request for ’07 Falls Short

Of Many Key R&D Authorizations in Last Year’s Energy Bill

 
Just 6 months after signing into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the President today sent to Congress a budget request for fiscal year 2007 that falls 23 percent short of the energy research and development authorizations contained in that legislation. 

As the summary table below shows, in two general areas -- basic science and renewable energy -- the President’s budget shows substantial growth over FY 2006 in areas related to those authorized in EPACT.  In most other areas, though, the President’s budget request falls far short of the level of investment in new energy research and technologies envisioned by EPACT. In a number of key areas, the President’s budget represents a retreat from the balanced portfolio of research and development endorsed by a wide bipartisan majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The President’s budget request falls even shorter of the authorized mark in two crucial energy programs also in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 – LIHEAP and weatherization funding.  Barely half of the combined authorization for these two key programs was requested by the President, notwithstanding the great demand for assistance in these areas engendered by current high oil and natural gas prices.

“I support the strong budget requests that President Bush made in basic science and in renewable energy research and development at the Department of Energy,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), top Democrat on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  “I am very troubled, though, by the lack of follow-up in this budget on so many other key areas in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  The President plans to hold DOE to zero overall growth in this budget.  As a result, this budget is taking us backwards in important programs in energy efficiency, clean coal, oil and gas, electricity reliability and distributed energy, just to name a few.  If our national energy policy is to give more than lip service to being balanced and comprehensive, then Congress needs to step up and improve on the flawed plan sent to us today by the President.”