Republican Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Funding Bill Raises Costs for Families and Weakens Our Energy Security

Bill decreases job opportunities and fails to confront the climate crisis.

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Republicans today released the draft fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. With massive cuts that renege on the debt limit agreement that was just signed into law, the bill raises costs for families and weakens energy security and our ability to out-compete China.

For 2024, the Energy and Water bill provides $55.2 billion, a decrease of $3.9 billion or 6.5 percent below 2023. Further, the bill’s domestic allocation is effectively 21.5 percent, $5.4 billion, below 2023 while its defense allocation is 3.5 percent, $1.1 billion, above 2023, creating a further disparity between domestic and defense programs. The legislation:

• Increases energy costs by cutting and rescinding the Department of Energy’s clean energy programs that lower American families’ energy bills.
• Jeopardizes energy security by enabling Russia to continue weaponizing energy to destabilize global markets.
• Hurts United States’ competitiveness by allowing competitors like China to monopolize markets for new energy technology.
• Fails to confront the climate crisis and create better-paying, clean energy jobs.

“The Department of Energy has proven time and again that they know how to drive down the costs of clean energy technologies, which reduces every day energy costs to the benefit of Americans nationwide, creating good-paying jobs for the hardworking men and women of our country while uplifting families,” Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) said. “I am disappointed that this bill makes deep cuts to efforts to deploy clean energy technologies throughout America that reduce burdensome energy costs on families and seniors, especially those struggling to make ends meet. Extreme budget cuts impede these important initiatives, resulting in higher energy costs and increased dependence on foreign adversaries for energy supplies. Republicans can't have it both ways when it comes to energy independence — if they cut spending at home, it will only increase our dependence on foreign energy sources from abroad.”

“Based on House Republican leadership rhetoric, you would think they would share many of the same goals for American Energy as my Democratic colleagues, like lower energy bills for American families, growth and support of a robust manufacturing sector, American energy independence, and out-competing China. Yet, with this 2024 Energy and Water funding bill, House Republicans raise costs on American households, undermine growth and modernization of our energy infrastructure, weaken our national security, and would yield leading the world’s energy future to China,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “Instead of introducing bills built on untenable cuts that will harm hardworking families, we should be working together to create funding bills that follow the current law of the bipartisan debt agreement.”   
A summary of key provisions in the draft fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies bill is below. The text of the draft bill is here. The subcommittee markup will be webcast live and linked on the House Committee on Appropriations website.

The 2024 funding bill’s notable cuts, rescissions, and repurposing (directing money where money was not legally directed previously):

• Cuts the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account by $466 million or 14% below 2023 ($1.8 billion or 38% below the President’s budget request).
• Includes $5.7 billion in untenable repeals from the Department of Energy’s Inflation Reduction Act programs, including:
  • $4.5 billion from the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program.
  • $1 billion from the Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption.
  • $200 million from the State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants.
• Relitigates the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) by repurposing:
  • $3.6 billion from the Department of Energy’s IIJA Civil Nuclear Credit Program that help preserve the existing U.S. reactor fleet and save thousands of high-paying jobs across the country; and
  • $84 million from the Corps of Engineers’ IIJA programs.
• Revokes $15 billion in loan authority from the Department of Energy’s Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program—an increasingly successful program that promotes climate-friendly innovation and American manufacturing.
• Intentionally shifts $576 million in domestic funding to defense programs by abandoning prior agreements on funding for certain environmental cleanup activities.

The bill includes partisan riders:

• Allows firearms on Corps of Engineers’ public lands.
• Blocks the January 2023 revised definition of ‘Waters of the United States’.
• Includes a new title of controversial California water provisions that mandates the use of environmentally harmful water management plans and advances controversial California dam proposals.
• Prohibits funding to stop the energy efficiency standard for electric grid distribution transformers.
• Prohibits funding related to Department of Energy’s Justice40 initiative.
• Prohibits funding related to critical race theory.
• Prohibits funding related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the Federal workforce.
• Prohibits funding related to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the Federal Government.
• Allows for discrimination based on same-sex marriage.

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