House Energy & Water Development Subcommittee Approves FY12 Spending Bill

June 8, 2011

The House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee recently approved its FY 2012 spending bill, which includes funding for research at the Department of Energy (DOE). The bill provides $4.8 billion for the Office of Science, $43 million less than FY 2011 funding.

While this is a reduction from FY 2011, it could be viewed as a positive outcome for the Office of Science if you take into account that H.R.1, the bill initially proposed by the House to cut spending back in February, would have cut close to a billion dollars from the office. The bill also provides $100 million for Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), $80 million less than the FY 2011 funding, and will increase the number of Energy Innovation Hubs from three to five. The DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office takes a significant cut of $491 million, with a final funding level of $1.3 billion.

Senators Show Support for DOE research
In the Senate, two groups of Senators weighed in with appropriators in support for DOE research by writing letters to them. In the first letter, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and signed by 19 senators, asks appropriators to treat DOE Office of Science as one of its highest priorities in FY 2012. The second letter, initiated by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bingaman and signed by 17 Senators, expresses support for ARPA-E, Energy Innovation Hubs, and Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs).

Information Courtesy of NewScience Policy.


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