Press Releases :: March 5, 2008

Subcommittee Examines DOE FY09 Budget Proposal

(Washington, DC) The U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment today reviewed the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget request for research and development programs.

The $7.7 billion request for DOE civilian energy R&D funding in FY2009 is divided among five offices. The Office of Science funds basic research at universities and 17 national laboratories, and is the single largest federal supporter of physical sciences research. The other four offices focus on applied research and technology development in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy, fossil energy, nuclear energy, and electricity delivery and energy reliability.

Noted Subcommittee Chairman Nick Lampson (D-TX) at the hearing, "The obstacles we face in energy and sustainability are of unprecedented scale and complexity. The Senate and House are working on legislation to institute a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases. We are still heavily dependent upon non-renewable energy supplies that are located outside our borders. We will only meet these challenges through aggressive and sustained support of research and development."

In the FY2009 budget, Fusion Energy Sciences received $493 million, an increase of $207 million or 72 percent over enacted FY2008 funding. Of this amount, $214 million is dedicated to restoring funding for the U.S. role in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

"I am pleased that this budget supports a restoration of funding for the U.S. contribution to the international fusion project ITER, as well as research towards a proposed International Linear Collider," added Lampson. "It is important for us to honor our commitments, and the credibility of the U.S. as a reliable partner in future large international research projects – where much of science is heading – will be significantly undermined if these corrective actions aren’t taken."

The Chairman pointed out that the President’s proposal of $1.26 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program at DOE represents a 27% cut from FY2008 congressional appropriations, with the elimination of the Weatherization Assistance program, a key component of the nation’s energy efficiency strategy, bearing a large brunt of the decrease.

"The cheapest, cleanest energy we will ever find is the energy we don’t use. Therefore, I cannot understand why the Administration has once again elected to eliminate the Weatherization Assistance program. We should be looking for more ways to encourage deployment of products and technologies that increase energy efficiency," said Lampson.

Funding for the Hydrogen Technology program also decreased by $64 million, or over 30%. The large decrease in funding for the Hydrogen Technology marks the end of the Administration’s 5-year commitment to hydrogen R&D, and a shift of program priorities to wider applications of advanced vehicle technologies, especially for plug-in electric vehicle platforms. Decreases in funding for solar, geothermal, hydropower and hydrokinetic are also slated.

The FY2009 budget also again proposes to eliminate all oil and gas R&D, including $50 million in direct spending (mandated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005) for unconventional onshore and ultra deep water offshore natural gas exploration technologies that would go largely to smaller independent oil and gas producers.

Witnesses at today’s hearing included: Mr. Steve Isakowitz, Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Energy; Mr. Mark Gaffigan, Acting Director in the Government Accountability Office’s Natural Resources and Environment Team; and Dr. Arthur Bienenstock, President of the American Physical Society and Professor of Physics and Special Assistant to the President for Federal Research Policy at Stanford University.

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