PA. SENATOR SEEKS TO RESTORE FOSSIL R&D FUNDING

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
9/6/13

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is looking to draw attention to recent proposed budget cuts to the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy as the Senate returns to Washington and continues hammering out a budget for the next fiscal year. Casey has spent recent weeks emphasizing how proposed cuts to FE and the National Energy Technology Laboratory would specifically hurt natural gas development and job creation in western Pennsylvania, where a portion of the lab is located. Casey recently held a press conference with Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald about restoring funding to FE R&D, and subsequently sent a letter to Senate leaders about the importance of the program. “Natural gas development and new coal technologies will allow Pennsylvanians to control our economic and energy destiny,” Casey said in a recent statement. “Now is not the time to cut back on vital investments that help move natural development and coal forward and will ultimately lead to more job creation and economic growth.”

The fight over FY 2014 funding is expected to come to a head in the coming weeks as lawmakers return to Washington after a month-long recess and must quickly finalize some sort of spending bill for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. House and Senate leaders are expected to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution that would extend current funding levels for two or three months while negotiating the details of a larger spending bill for the remainder of the fiscal year. The FY 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed the House earlier this summer would provide $430 million for FE’s R&D program—a 13 percent cut compared to pre-sequester FY 2013 funding levels. The Senate version of the bill has yet to be considered by the full chamber but would set aside $420.6 million for Fossil Energy R&D, on par with the Obama Administration’s request but a 15 percent cut compared to FY 2013 levels.

‘Negatively Impact Future Preparedness’

Casey said he was “concerned” about the “drastic cuts” to NETL and the FE R&D program in a recent letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Federal funding allows NETL to carry out its responsibility to support DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States. Any funding decline will negatively impact our future energy preparedness,” wrote Casey, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth.

Casey highlighted how funding cuts could slow R&D related to power plant efficiency; monitoring, verification and accounting for CO2 storage; National Carbon Capture Center pilot testing and CO2 utilization work. He warned that cutting funding could reduce the number of projects that could be completed. “There will be struggles to maintain plans to meet goals required by various laws. Reductions will require a re-prioritization of funds for projects and will limit the full implementation to achieve energy transformation requirements to maintain our energy independence and economy,” Casey wrote. “Reductions will require an extended time period to complete the implementation planned for fossil energy operations to meet safety, health and environmental regulations.”