Chairwoman Kaptur Statement at Full Committee Markup of FY 2021 Energy and Water Development Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Chair of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Appropriations Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2021 Energy and Water Development bill:

Thank you, Chairwoman Lowey, and I add my thanks to you for your years of honorable, dedicated service to this Committee and to our nation. You will truly be missed.

I am pleased to consider the Energy and Water bill today, a bill that captures the American spirt of ingenuity and independence.

This bill provides the foundation of critical investments to combat climate change, to upgrade and strengthen our nation’s energy and water infrastructure, and to responsibly fund our nation’s nuclear deterrent while rejecting the Administration’s dangerous plan to restart nuclear explosive testing.

In addition to regular appropriations, the bill cues up additional infrastructure investments to help our nation recover from the economic recession hastened by the coronavirus pandemic, and spurs economic recovery by rebuilding and modernizing our water and energy infrastructure.

This bill rejects the President’s drastic and short-sighted proposed cuts and instead invests in important programs that keep our nation at the forefront of global energy innovation; enable the efficient shipment of goods; and provide water, irrigation, and electricity to millions of Americans. These programs are the lifeblood for millions of Americans and propel real economic growth.

Let me briefly walk through the bill:

• The Army Corps of Engineers receives $7.6 billion, the second year of record funding to address a significant backlog, and an increase of $1.7 billion above the budget request. We all must salute the professionals at the Corps who assisted in the response to coronavirus across our nation.
   
• The Bureau of Reclamation receives $1.64 billion, an increase of $508 million above the request.
   
• The Department of Energy receives $41 billion, an increase of $5.1 billion above the request.
   
• Within DOE, the bill contains historic funding levels for key energy innovation programs:
   
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy receives $2.85 billion, $2.1 billion above the request.
     
• ARPA-E, our advanced energy portfolio, receives $435 million – a record amount for a program the President proposed to eliminate.

• And the Office of Science receives $7.05 billion, $1.2 billion above the request.

• Climate change demands a forthright national commitment. Our bill makes this commitment, but Congress must do more to contain carbon dioxide emissions necessary to sustain life on Earth.

• This bill also provides an increase for the home Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps ensure that low-income households have energy-efficient, more livable and sustainable futures in these communities.
   
• The National Nuclear Security Administration receives $18 billion, $1.3 billion above 2020. Within NNSA:
   
  • The bill responsibly funds America’s nuclear deterrent, and
     
  • Nuclear Nonproliferation receives $2.24 billion, an increase of $209 million above the request.

• Finally, this bill prohibits funds to be used for a border wall. It does not allow the President to divert essential Corps funding from previously approved appropriations.

Importantly, to assure a job-rich, robust economy, the bill also includes additional investments in infrastructure, including:

• $17 billion for the Corps to accelerate pending projects, including $10 billion in Construction and $5 billion in Operation and Maintenance;

• $3 billion to accelerate work on authorized Reclamation projects; and

• $23.5 billion for DOE to modernize infrastructure and deploy technologies for our nation’s clean energy future.

In short, this bill will put Americans back to work. It will promote economic prosperity. And it will help American industry to compete globally.

This bill makes desperately needed investments in water infrastructure. It invests in clean energy technologies, including work highlighted in the recent “Solving the Climate Crisis” report. And it promotes a credible nuclear deterrent while supporting a robust nonproliferation program.

I’d like to thank all our Subcommittee members for their engagement during the unusual process this year as we work remotely.

I also want to thank my Ranking Member, Mr. Simpson, and our full committee Ranking Member, Ms. Granger, for their full partnership. I would also like to thank our enduring staff for their hard work – Jaime Shimek, Farouk Ophaso, Scott McKee, Marcel Caldwell, Mike Brain, and Mark Arnone on the majority side and Angie Giancarlo on the minority side. Thank you.

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