Skip to content
News and updates

Category: Energy R&D

House FY2016 E&W Fails on the Floor

Posted on

Earlier today, House’s FY2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill (HR 5055) failed by a vote of 112-305. It is the second regular appropriations bill to be considered by the House this year. The first was the FY2017 Mil-Con measure, which passed last week.

The measure failed to pass due to a series of amendments that poisoned the bill for both Republicans and Democrats. For the Democrats, there were a host of provisions added that dealt  illegal immigration “sanctuary cities” and the Iran nuclear deal among others. Additionally, the President had previously issued a veto threat on the measure over several policy riders, including ones that ease protections for an endangered fish to allow more water to be diverted within drought-stricken California as well as provisions to prevent implementation of Clean Water Act regulations..

The damning amendment for conservative Republicans was an added last night by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) and passed by a vote of 223-195, which would bar federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.The Maloney amendment was first offered on the House FY2017 Mil-Con bill, which appeared to pass 217-206, but ultimately was defeated after the Leadership’s effort switched enough Republican votes to defeat the measure, 212-213. Many House Republicans opposed the amendment because it would have the effect of enacting into law a 2014 Executive Order by President Barack Obama.

Upon the amendment’s failure on the FY2017 Mil-Con bill, Rep. Maloney insisted he would continue to offer the amendment, or similar to each subsequent appropriations measure. This position lead to the House Republicans changing their tactics on future appropriations considered on the Floor, but not until after the HR5055, the FY2017 E&W bill was already on the Floor for consideration.

Ultimately, just 106 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 130 voted against it. There were only six Democratic votes in favor as well, with 175 opposed.

With the failure of the bill, the House recessed for the Memorial Day Recess period.

House Passes Amended Senate Energy Policy Bill

Posted on

Yesterday, the House passed, by a vote of 241-178, an amended Senate legislative package (S. 2012) containing its broad energy policy overhaul. The Senate, which passed a more bipartisan bill, expressed concern about several of the many contentious elements the House added. The House included several controversial provisions including it’s stalled version to reauthorize America COMPETES. 

The next step for the House’s energy bill is a conference with the Senate’s version of the legislation. 

White House Threaten Veto on House FY 2017 E&W Bill

Posted on

This week, the House is expected to consider on the House Floor HR 5055, Energy and Water Appropriations for FY 2017. The bill provides a total of $37.4 billion in funding subject to discretionary caps for FY 2017 for the Energy Department and federal water projects, $259 million more than comparable FY 2016 funding and $168 million more than requested. On a programmatic level, after factoring out rescissions and other scorekeeping adjustments, it provides a total of $37.7 billion to the departments and agencies funded by the measure, $350 million more than the current level and $88 million more than requested. Compared with current funding, the measure increases funding for the Army Corps of Engineers by 2%, nuclear weapons activities by 4% and fossil fuels energy research by 2%. It decreases funding for nuclear nonproliferation programs by 6%, the Bureau of Reclamation by 10% and research on renewable-energy programs by 12%.

The White House has issued a veto threat though a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) late yesterday. The Administration cites the failure to adequately or robustly fund energy research accounts. This is not the first, nor likely the last veto threat of the fiscal year.

Read the SAP here.

House Keeps Moving on Appropriations

Posted on

This week, the House is expected to move the FY2017 E&W bill on the Floor while the House Appropriations Committee is expected to mark up FY 2017 CJS and T-HUD bills in full committee and FY 2017 Interior in subcommittee.

The House FY2017 E&W bill provides a total of $37.4 billion in funding subject to discretionary caps for FY 2017 for the Energy Department and federal water projects, $259 million more than comparable FY 2016 funding and $168 million more than requested. On a programmatic level, after factoring out rescissions and other scorekeeping adjustments, it provides a total of $37.7 billion to the departments and agencies funded by the measure, $350 million more than the current level and $88 million more than requested.

Compared with current funding, the measure increases funding for the Army Corps of Engineers by 2%, nuclear weapons activities by 4% and fossil fuels energy research by 2%. It decreases funding for nuclear nonproliferation programs by 6%, the Bureau of Reclamation by 10% and research on renewable-energy programs by 12%.

Democrats object to several policy provisions, including those that would prohibit funding for certain regulatory activities and those that would require that water in Northern California be diverted south for agricultural and other uses. The bill is expected to be considered under an open rule.

More information about the House FY2017 CJS and Interior bill will be posted as it is made available.

Veto Threat on Senate’s FY2017 T-HUD/Mil-Con Package

Posted on

The White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) today threatening to veto the FY2017 T-HUD/Mil-Con package the Senate is expected to consider this week.

While, the language in the SAP does not link the veto threat to any particular policy provision in the bill under consideration, which is similar to the open-ended veto threat issued by the Administration as the Senate took up its first appropriations measure, the FY2017 E&W spending bill, the SAP criticizes “problematic ideological provisions” in the legislation, including restrictions on funding related to the Guantanamo Bay detention center.