Kaptur statement at full committee markup of 2016 Energy & Water Appropriations bill
Mr. Chairman, please let me recognize you for the hard effort and collegiality required to prepare this Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water bill. Special gratitude is extended as well to Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Lowey, and the dedicated members of our Subcommittee for their diligence and good attendance. Finally, to our exceptional subcommittee professional staff—Donna Shahbaz on the Republican side and Taunja Berquam on the Democratic side—all of us appreciate your indefatigable work ethic and very long hours devoted to this bill, largely unrecognized.
I think both the Chairman and I are very pleased to see our bill move first through this appropriations cycle. It is a fitting bill to be considered on Earth Day. Surely, the twelve bills that come through our Full Committee offer the Legislative Branch a precious Constitutional responsibility to meet our nation’s future horizons through our combined efforts. From America’s nuclear security to the educational opportunity for millions of youngsters across our nation, our bills touch every aspect of American life. America must meet its obligations to future generations.
Unfortunately, the allocations the Committee is working with are based on the House Majority’s Budget Resolution. The budget conference is ongoing and Members on both sides of the aisle have publically acknowledged that the allocation is inadequate. We need a sensible overall budget number along with Subcommittee allocations. Without these, our Subcommittee is placed in a most difficult position. While our Committee will address the broader 302(b) allocations in a short while, moving this bill absent a sensible overall budget number is truly putting the cart before the horse. Further, the Energy and Water bill does have a reasonable 302(b) under this scenario—a $1.2 billion increase, compared to the $1.8 billion increase in the budget request—however it comes at the expense of other Subcommittees whose worthy work hangs in suspended animation.
We meet at a time when the Western part of our nation is becoming more desert like. We witness a world where the politics of energy is compromising liberty. We feel the weight of nuclear proliferation in a world where irresponsible states and non-state actors seek to harm. With the global population expected to nearly double over the course of this century, we know water and seaborne commerce—still the most cost effective transportation mode—will require modern ports and infrastructure. The energy and water jurisdiction is home to these objectives and many more.
With this very serious procedural impediment, let us turn to the underlying tenets of the Energy and Water bill.
When the Department of Energy was created, America was in the midst of a national energy crisis that morphed into an economic crisis.
Biofuels had not come on stream. Today, this carbohydrate-based industry has literally turned the hydrocarbon molecule inside out, and now constitutes nearly 10% of the liquid fuel our nation consumes. Byproducts of farming and manufacturing are being transformed to natural gas.
Photovoltaic energy was a distant dream in 1980. Today, First Solar, an Ohio launched company, is our nation’s leading solar firm. It is locked in fierce competition, hot on the heels of two Chinese firms that rank one and two globally. Solar power, a technology that has become cost competitive over 40 years, will grow in the marketplace as converter technology and integrated delivery systems are perfected. I can’t say enough about how exciting it is to see a new energy industry being born. Last year, solar represented 20 percent of new generation capacity—an astounding figure and a testament to how far the industry has progressed.
Geothermal, wind, and other renewable technologies, paired with an effective grid modernization plan, also offers great promise as part of our all-of-the-above energy strategy.
For fossil fuels and coal in particular, our nation has more BTU’s underground in coal than the Middle East’s oil. The scientific challenge is to push the research to use its inherent power in a manner that doesn’t harm the atmosphere.
Natural gas, thanks to advanced technology supported by the Department of Energy, is coming on more robustly than anyone could have predicted four decades ago. The U.S. is projected to become a net exporter by 2020.
Yet to understand the power of energy to transform economies and entire political relationships, one has to look no further than Europe’s unwise dependency on Russia for its natural gas; or the Middle East’s politics that ebb and flow with oil wars again unfolding before our eyes in real time.
To counter the political and economic damage of growing dependence on foreign oil, President Carter developed a series of goals to be achieved in a few short years—by 1985—that would steer our nation toward a more sustainable track.
Containing our ballooning consumption topped the agenda—reducing our annual demand growth to less than 2 percent and reducing gasoline consumption by 10 percent. President Carter achieved both goals during his presidency, but while total energy consumption has grown only modestly since then, gasoline consumption increased by 40 percent in the 25 years after he left office. Under the current Administration, partnerships between the Energy Labs and automotive companies have finally helped us level out our demand for gasoline.
President Carter also laid out goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy—using solar in more than two and a half million homes and insulating 90 percent of all buildings. The 17.5 Gigawatts of solar electric capacity currently operating in the U.S. is enough to power more than 3.5 million average American homes and 90 percent of homes in the U.S. are insulated. These are important milestones for our country. We must continue to push onward.
Finally, on the critical issue of reducing foreign oil imports, President Carter’s initiative reduced imports below the target of 6 million barrels a day—a cut of nearly 1/3—but imports again went on the rise in subsequent decades. Today, we are still above 6 million barrels, but imports continue to decline and America is once again producing more energy here at home than we import from abroad.
The measure before us continues to advance energy innovation through the Science and ARPA-E accounts—respectively, slightly above and equal to 2015 funding. It is critical for the U.S. to surpass aggressive foreign competition on the energy frontier.
However, the decrease in funding for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency is concerning. While the budget request was based on a much higher top line, a funding cut of $266 million below 2015 threatens to undercut the extraordinary strides our nation has made in recent years.
After accounting for programmatic shifts, the Weapons programs are funded $750 million above the comparative level last year. The bill fully funds the life extension programs, but ensures that funding is contingent on the ability of the NNSA to meet Committee-directed reporting requirements in a timely manner.
The equally important nonproliferation and cleanup portions of our nuclear program also receive increased funding. We must meet our responsibility to deter the threats of nuclear proliferation and clean up our nuclear legacy to minimize the burden passed on to future generations.
The bill provides robust funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Investments in water infrastructure keep our ports open for global business and mitigate floods. The Corps is essential in helping our country adapt to the challenges of both water scarcity in our drought-stricken West and water insecurity due to toxic runoff in freshwater-rich regions like the Great Lakes.
Specifically, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund dredging projects receive a much-needed increase as directed by WRDA—$73 million more than in 2015 and $263 million above the budget request. The bill also continues the prohibition of new starts. However, the Corps of Engineers’ $60 billion backlog and lack of responsiveness to Member requests to complete work remain concerning.
Finally, it should be noted that several controversial and unnecessary riders threaten not only the ultimate enactment of this bill, but also our most precious resource: water. Including these provisions is a disappointment and does a disservice in our work, particularly given the water challenges facing many parts of our country.
While I have concerns with the measure before us, Mr. Chairman, I would like to reiterate my appreciation for your work with us on many issues. You have ensured that the Energy and Water Subcommittee continues its tradition of bipartisanship. Our Members look forward to working with you and the members on both sides of the aisle to advance the process and complete the task before us.
Thank you Mr. Chairman for the time.