WASHINGTON- House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Norm Dicks made the following comments after release of the FY2013 Energy and Water bill text:

"Today House Republicans released their bill text for the FY13 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. While it is always encouraging to see the appropriations process get underway, I fear that the outlook for this year's bills may be ominous given the Republican's choice to renege on the Budget Control Act agreement and cut the FY13 allocation by -$19 billion. The overall discretionary allocation in the Ryan budget threatens to stall economic growth and job creation. However, I am cautiously optimistic that this allocation is merely temporary; at the end of the day, the real level will be $1.047 trillion, not $1.028.

"Despite the dangerously low overall allocation, Republicans fund the Energy and Water bill above last year's level and within the range of what would have been expected if Republicans had stuck to the agreement they voted for in the BCA. This subcommittee's relatively decent allocation raises serious concerns about what funding levels will be assigned to the remaining bills.

"In summary, several programs in this Energy and Water bill are sufficiently funded; however, I am disappointed to see priorities underfunded that address America's energy needs and security in a time of extraordinarily high gas prices."

Below is a brief summary of funding levels in the FY2013 Energy & Water bill:

Total Allocation: $32.1 billion | $88 million above the FY2012 Enacted | -$965 million below the President's FY2012 Request.

NNSA [National Nuclear Security Administration] Weapons Activities: The bill provides $7.58 billion total, $343 million above the FY2012 enacted level and equal to the President's request.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation: The bill provides $2.28 billion total, -$41 million below the FY2012 enacted level and -$176 million below the President's request.

Defense Nuclear Environmental Cleanup: The bill provides $4.92 billion total, -$99 million below the FY2012 enacted level and -$85 million below the President's request. These funds are used to mitigate the environmental impact after over a half-century of national security nuclear activity.

Army Corps of Engineers: The bill provides $4.8 billion total, -$188 million below the FY2012 enacted level and $83 million above the President's request. The bill provides no funds for new start projects.

Office of Science: The bill provides $4.8 billion total, -$64 million below the FY2012 enacted level and -$167 million below the President's request.

ARPA-E [Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy]: The bill provides $200 million total, -$75 million below the FY2012 enacted level and -$150 million below the President's request.

Energy Efficiency: The bill provides $1.45 billion total, -$374 million below the FY2012 enacted level and -$886 million below the President's request.

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