BUDGET BLUEPRINTS SHOW PARTISAN RIFT ON ENERGY

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
3/15/13

Dueling budget plans released this week by House Republicans and Senate Democrats diverged sharply on issues like clean energy research, oil and gas development on federal lands and environmental regulations, demonstrating a widening chasm between the parties on energy. Republicans heading up the House Budget Committee and the Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee this week released budget blueprints for Fiscal Year 2014 that largely stuck to well-worn, party-line talking points on energy and environmental issues.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) introduced a 91-page FY2014 budget blueprint March 12 that brings back many of the energy policy plans he pitched while on the campaign trail with Mitt Romney last fall. Painting in broad strokes, the proposed Republican budget emphasizes increased fossil fuel production on federal lands and in the Outer Continental Shelf and advocates for fewer public incentives for clean energy technologies. The blueprint criticizes the Obama Administration for “penalizing” the burning of fossil fuels and “rewarding their uncompetitive alternatives” like renewables, while mentioning favorite GOP talking points like Solyndra’s bankruptcy and the lack of White House action on the Keystone XL pipeline.

The GOP plan promises energy independence and more oil and gas development on federal lands. It also vows to rescind all unobligated balances from the Department of Energy’s loan portfolio while scaling back subsidies for clean energy technologies. “The budget provides sufficient funding for essential projects, like energy security and basic research and development. But it pares back spending in areas of duplication and non-core functions, like applied and commercial research and development projects best left to the private sector,” the plan says. While the blueprint makes no direct mention of climate change, it criticizes the White House for moving forward on executive actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions even after Congress struck down a cap-and-trade plan.

Senate Plan Emphasizes Science R&D

Meanwhile, Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) unveiled Senate Democrats’ first budget resolution since 2009 on March 13. Their plan specifically calls for prioritizing the modernization of the nation’s electricity transmission system with “smart” grid technologies. It also vows to prioritize science R&D and clean energy development programs by fully replacing cuts to science R&D programs at the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the National Science Foundation and NASA, as well as to energy efficiency and conservation programs like DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program. “The Senate Budget recognizes the crucial role energy research plays in current and future job creation and economic competitiveness, and increases federal investments in energy research and development for programs at the national labs and ARPA-E,” the blueprint states.

The Democrats’ plan criticizes House Republicans for recently putting forward spending plans that would apply “draconian cuts” to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget. Instead, the Democrats said they would take steps to increase funding for EPA beyond restoring the cuts made under the recent sequester. Their plan would also boost allocations for other government programs in order to “continue the push to lower emissions of dangerous greenhouse gases.” The plan acknowledges the environmental and economic impacts of climate change and says it would fund efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change by investing in science R&D, clean energy and energy efficiency development programs and activities to predict weather patterns and extreme weather events.

Both Spending Plans Face Uphill Battles

Both plans passed their respective budget committees this week on party-line votes and both are expected to be considered on their respective House and Senate floors next week. But Ryan and Murray will likely face uphill battles as they attempt to reconcile the vast differences between their two blueprints. While Ryan’s plan aims to cut $4.6 trillion from government coffers over the next decade and balance the budget in that period of time, Murray’s budget aims for more targeted spending on key programs which she says will help boost the middle class. “The highest priority of the Senate budget is to create the conditions for job creation, economic growth, and prosperity built from the middle out, not the top down,” according to a Senate Budget Committee fact sheet. The Senate plan instead looks to achieve $1.85 trillion in savings over the next 10 years with targeted budget cuts and eliminating tax code loopholes, Murray said.

Senate to Consider CR Next Week

But before the House and Senate can begin consideration of their FY2014 budget blueprints, they must first pass a stop-gap measure to fund the federal government through the remainder of the fiscal year, given that the current temporary funding measure expires at the end of this month. The House passed their continuing resolution (CR) last week. That version would extend current funding levels for most government agencies through Sept. 30—it did not include special language for DOE—while folding in cuts from the sequester.

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its own version of the CR earlier this week. That measure maintains funding for most government programs at the same level as the House plan, but also includes breakout divisions for Agriculture; Commerce, Justice and Science; Defense; Homeland Security; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs programs. However, the Senate version does cut $44 million from DOE through the remainder of the fiscal year, sparing the Office of Fossil Energy but trimming funding from the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, Science and ARPA-E.

In a statement of administration policy March 12, the White House said it supports the Senate CR. “The Administration urges the Congress to promptly pass this bipartisan compromise allowing critical Government functions to operate without interruption in order to protect national security and ensure that Americans continue to receive vital services and benefits,” the White House said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had hoped to pass the Senate stop-gap measure this week, but the bill was quickly bogged down by nearly 100 amendments. Consideration will continue early next week, Reid said March 14.