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"The Bush Budget has its own brownout -- lights dim on critical environmental, conservation and renewable energy programs," Congressman John D. Dingell Washington, D.C. – Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, today lambasted the Bush budget for weakening critical energy programs, particularly in the areas of environmental management, conservation and renewable energy. The President’s budget for the Department of Energy (DOE) would reduce overall spending from $19.67 billion in FY 2001 to $19.21 billion in FY 2002. The largest cuts, $417.2 million, are in programs to restore the environment at nuclear weapons and nuclear research sites. "As if mandating that Americans drink water laced with arsenic isn’t bad enough, the Bush Administration is continuing its assault on safety by making deep cuts in environmental cleanup programs at the DOE civilian and defense sites," Dingell stated. "This is an abdication of the federal government’s responsibility to clean up its own mess. Parents and children living near these sites will continue to face the threat of exposure to toxic and radioactive wastes as cleanups are slowed down. This budget is nothing but bad news for families living near these hazardous facilities in states like Ohio, New Mexico, Idaho, California, Missouri, Washington, Nevada, South Carolina and even Texas." Renewable energy and conservation programs within DOE also face major cuts. Renewable energy would be cut by 36.4 percent and conservation (other than weatherization grants) by 21.2 percent. Among renewable research and development programs facing significant cuts are: geothermal and hydrogen research by 48.3 percent; hydropower by 49.9 percent; solar energy by 53.7 percent; and, wind energy by 48.2 percent."Affordable and reliable energy takes years of research to develop. Unfortunately in this regard the Bush budget is penny-wise and pound foolish. Only time will tell how costly these mistakes will be to future generations," Dingell noted. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the nation’s single greatest resource for nonpartisan, accurate energy data, gets no increase, and would have to fund salary increases with program reductions. "While President Bush has time and again declared an energy crisis in American, his budgetary actions fail to lend any credence," Dingell said. "Unless he’s relying on the time tested ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ philosophy, I’m at a loss to understand how freezing the budget of EIA’s eyes and ears will serve America well. The nation cannot afford to turn a blind eye when it comes to EIA’s worth or their projections." Despite severe cuts to most energy research and development programs, and an overall reduction in the Department of Energy, one office in particular receives a substantial increase: public affairs by 17.7 percent."Spending more money on public relations may make it easier to sell this nasty formula to hard-working taxpayers. But in the end, no amount of spin can cover up the negligent harm to future generations," Dingell noted. Staff Analysis of Bush Energy Budget FY02 - 30 -
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