US House votes to dole out $24.4 billion to DOE in fiscal 2007

Washington (Platts)--24May2006

The US House of Representatives Wednesday night passed a fiscal 2007
spending bill that allocates $24.4 billion to the Energy Department.
The bill passed by a 404 to 20 vote after lawmakers beat back several
efforts to extract congressional earmarks from the measure.
In one of a handful of amendendments that was approved, the House added
$49.5 million to the State Energy Program after David Hobson, the chairman of
the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, tried to eliminate funding for
it earlier in the month.
Hobson, Republican-Ohio, said the program, which pays for state energy
efficiency projects, is "another pork-filled program for governors." But
others argued the program offered important energy savings and leveraged
further efficiency investments.
Overall, the bill allocates $5.5 billion to environmental clean-up; $4.1
billion to science programs, which are a major Bush administration priority;
$1.3 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy; $558 million to coal,
oil and natural gas research; and $530 million to nuclear energy.
It also devotes $544 million for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository in Nevada and an additional $30 million for storage of waste above
ground at centralized sites.
The House approved the Appropriation Committee's plan to slash to $120
million the president's $250 million proposal to develop advanced nuclear
waste recycling facilities and modern reactors. But they defeated an amendment
to further cut the "Global Nuclear Energy Partnership" by $40 million.
The Senate will likely take up the bill next month. The two chambers will
try to reconcile their bills later this year.

 

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