Appropriations for FY2000: Energy and Water Development (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 26, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RL30207 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Marc Humphries and Carl Behrens, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil projects of the
Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec), most
of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Administration
requested $22 billion for these programs for FY2000. The House and Senate approved $21.3 billion.
Low allocations under Section 302 (b) of the Budget Act created difficulties for Appropriations
Committees in both Houses. The Senate Committee responded by cutting water projects for the
Corps and BuRec, and keeping DOE funding about at the requested level. The House Appropriations
Committee increased money for the Corps and cut about $1.5 billion from DOE, much of it in the
weapons program. The Senate passed the bill ( S. 1186 ) June 16, 1999. The House
passed its version of the bill ( H.R. 2605 ) July 27, 1999. The House-Senate Conference
Committee reported out its agreement on September 24, 1999, with some of the Senate cuts to the
Corps, and some of the House cuts to DOE, restored. The bill was signed by the President on
September 29, 1999 ( P.L. 106-60 ).
Other key issues involving Energy and Water Development appropriations programs included:
Policy issues related to wetlands regulatory programs involving the
Corps;
the Bureau of Reclamation's controversial Animas-La Plata project in Colorado,
a large irrigation and tribal projects with likely controversial environmental impacts, for which the
Administration requested no new appropriations in FY2000;
a pending decision by DOE on the electrometallurgical treatment of nuclear
spent fuel for storage and disposal, a process that opponents contend raises nuclear nonproliferation
concerns;
proposed funding increases for DOE's accelerated computer simulation efforts
to simulate nuclear weapons explosions and other important aspects of the nuclear weapons
stockpile;
increased funding for DOE's Nuclear Cities Initiative in Russia, to find
alternative work for unemployed Russian nuclear weapons designers;
NRC's plans to overhaul its regulatory system for nuclear power plant safety,
as urged by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees;
The ongoing controversy over interim civilian nuclear waste storage;
and
DOE's "privatization" program for nuclear waste
cleanup.
Key Policy Staff
