Energy and the EPA at the Heart of 2011 Budget Battle

Today is “budget day” in Washington parlance. Obama's third budget aims to reduce the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next decade with reductions in the upcoming fiscal year and a five-year freeze in domestic spending. In the House, Republicans are countering with a proposal to reduce up to $100 billion in the current fiscal year alone before they begin writing their own proposed budget for 2012 and beyond. At the core of this fight is energy and climate, with Republicans taking aim at EPA and DOE and the Obama administration staking out the center with cuts to programs popular on both sides of the aisle, while maintaining his support for core priorities like advanced energy research and infrastructure investments. Today’s GR Energy and Climate Brief previews the coming fight over the budget, with special emphasis on the impact on energy and environmental programs.

What Obama Is Proposing

Obama's 2012 proposal gives EPA $9B (down $1.3B from FY2010); DOI gets $12.1B (roughly unchanged); DOE gets $29.5B (up $3B); NOAA gets $5.5B (up $645M); Army Corps of Engineers' civil works gets $4.6B, down $913M.  Among the reductions for 2012 proposed by the President is home energy assistance to low-income families and community service block grants (which funds energy efficiency programs), which would be cut in half.  Of the roughly $4 billion in cuts Obama is proposing for DOE, $3.6 billion are wrapped up in subsidies for the coal, oil, and natural gas industries.  President Obama also has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to continue funding advanced research, setting up a fight over programs like advanced energy research and high-speed rail. 

Full article here.