Energy and Water Development: FY2014 Appropriations (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 25, 2014 |
| Report Number |
R43121 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Carl E. Behrens, Anthony Andrews, David M. Bearden, Nicole T. Carter, Peter Folger, Heather B. Gonzalez, Mark Holt, Jonathan E. Medalia, Fred Sissine, Charles V. Stern |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.
FY2013 Energy and Water Development appropriations were considered in the context of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), which established discretionary spending limits for FY2012-FY2021. On March 26, 2013, the President signed H.R. 933, the FY2013 Defense and Military Construction/VA, Full Year Continuing Resolution (P.L. 113-6). The act funded Energy and Water Development accounts at the FY2012 enacted level for the rest of FY2013, with some exceptions. However, under BCA, an automatic spending reduction process, consisting of a combination of sequestration and lower discretionary spending caps, went into effect March 1, 2013.
For FY2014, as in previous years, the level of overall spending was a major issue. President Obama's FY2014 budget request for Energy and Water Development was released in April 2013. The request totaled $34.4 billion. On June 26 the House Appropriations Committee reported a bill, H.R. 2609, with a total of $30.4 billion; the bill passed the House, with amendments, on July 10. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out a bill, S. 1245, on June 27, with a total of $34.4 billion. On October 16, 2013, Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, H.R. 2775, P.L. 113-46, extending funding for all federal programs, including Energy and Water Development, through January 15, 2014, at the FY2013 post-sequestration spending level. On December 26 the President signed H.J.Res. 59 (P.L. 113-67), which contained the Bipartisan Budget Act establishing less stringent spending caps for FY2014 and FY2015 than the BCA and easing the way for an appropriations agreement. On January 17, 2014, the President signed H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76), containing appropriations for all 12 FY2014 appropriations bills, including Energy and Water Development programs (Division D).
In addition to funding levels, issues specific to Energy and Water Development programs included
the distribution of appropriations for Corps (Title I) and Reclamation (Title II) projects that have historically received congressional appropriations above Administration requests;
alternatives to the proposed national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which the Administration has abandoned (Title III: Nuclear Waste Disposal);
proposed FY2014 spending levels for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) programs (Title III) that were more than 50% higher in the Administration's request than the amount appropriated for FY2012; and,
funding for the nuclear weapons program and other defense activities, which make up half of the total Department of Energy budget.
