The House of Representatives on Thursday passed fiscal 2018 energy appropriations legislation in a 235-192 vote, after blocking a number of amendments from Democrats targeting the proposed increase in funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons activities account.
Lawmakers this week debated a slew of amendments to the Make America Secure Appropriations Act of 2018, which combines four spending bills already approved by House appropriators into a “mini-bus” package. The approved package includes an Energy and Water budget of roughly $38 billion, as well as spending proposals for the Defense Department, the Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.
The House Appropriations Committee earlier this month passed the energy funding measure that would grant the National Nuclear Security Administration $13.9 billion for the budget year beginning Oct. 1. That includes $10.2 billion for the agency’s weapons activities account (up by $921.3 million from the current level), $1.8 billion for defense nuclear nonproliferation, $1.5 billion for naval reactors, and $412.6 million for federal salaries and expenses.
Democrat lawmakers took aim at the weapons activity increase, proposing amendments that would cut or redirect portions of that funding spike to other Energy Department offices. Three of those were debated on the House floor Wednesday evening but ultimately failed to pass.
One of those, from Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.), would have cut the weapons activities account by $921 million and add that to DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Another from Rep. Jared Polis (Colo.) would reduce weapons funding by $352 million while increasing EERE by $986.3 million and decreasing Fossil Energy Research and Development by $634.6 million. Yet another from Rep. John Garamendi (Calif.) would cut the weapons account’s infrastructure funding by $118 million and add that to the NNSA’s defense nuclear nonproliferation account.
One NNSA-related amendment did pass by voice vote, however: a measure from Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) that would redirect $10 million within the NNSA weapons account to fighting bioterror.
The White House in a statement of administration policy released Monday said it would support the chamber’s proposed bill, despite objections to some of its DOE-related provisions unrelated to the weapons activities account, including one that directs continued construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The administration has adopted its predecessor’s proposal to cancel the project intended to eliminate 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium.
The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved its version of the energy and water legislation, which provides $13.7 billion to the NNSA, including $10 billion for weapons activities, $1.9 billion for defense nuclear nonproliferation, $1.4 billion for naval reactors, and $396 million for federal salaries and expenses. It has not scheduled a floor vote on the bill.
