FW: House Energy & Water Appropriations bill for markup tomorrow
Ellen Thomas
Committee Releases FY25 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Washington, D.C.
– Today, the House Appropriations Committee
released the Fiscal Year 2025 bill for the Energy
and Water Development and Related
Agencies Subcommittee. The bill will be considered
in subcommittee tomorrow, June 28th at 8:30 a.m.
The markup will be live-streamed and can be found
on the Committee’s website.
Energy and Water Development
Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)
said, “Our nation faces many
challenges. Three of the most critical challenges
we face are maintaining a safe and reliable
nuclear deterrent, advancing American energy
security, and supporting robust water resources
improvements nationwide. In tight fiscal times, we
must ensure that every precious and limited
taxpayer dollar is properly used to strengthen
America while cutting wasteful and unnecessary
spending that has contributed to record inflation.
I’m proud that the Fiscal Year 2025 Energy and
Water Development appropriations bill continues to
build off the work of our FY24 bill to strengthen
America’s strategic nuclear stockpile, revitalize
our ability to enrich uranium domestically, invest
in our long-term energy security, and maintain our
country’s ports and inland waterways. I thank
Chairman Cole for his leadership and my colleagues
on the Appropriations Committee for their
contributions to this bill and look forward to
moving the FY25 Energy and Water bill through the
legislative process to enactment.”
Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said,
“This FY25 bill strengthens our national security,
economy, and energy sector. Defense programs are
prioritized as we modernize the nuclear weapons
stockpile and infrastructure of the United States.
We support America’s water resources, including
waterways important for commerce, and the vital
work of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau
of Reclamation. Investments for the enhancement
and expansion of domestic energy sources are
supported, while programs with no accountability
and progressive bloat are rejected. Now more than
ever, we need to lead in cutting-edge research and
our nuclear deterrence—and Chairman Fleischmann’s
legislation is critical to those tenets.”
Fiscal Year 2025 Energy and Water
Development and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act
The Energy and Water Development and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total
discretionary allocation of $59.190 billion, which
is $999 million (1.7%) above the Fiscal Year 2024
enacted level and $139 million (-0.2%) below the
President’s Budget Request including emergency
amounts requested.
The defense portion of the allocation is $34.193
billion, which is $906 million (2.7%) above the
Fiscal Year 2024 enacted level and $214 million
(0.6%) above the President’s Budget Request. The
non-defense portion of the allocation is $24.997
billion, which is $93 million (0.4%) above the
FY24 enacted level and $353 million (1.4%) below
the President’s Budget Request.
The bill prioritizes funding for agencies and
programs that bolster our national security,
energy security, and economic competitiveness.
Key Takeaways
- Bolsters
our national security by upholding the
nation’s nuclear deterrence posture,
including:
- $20.339 billion for the continued modernization of the nuclear weapons stockpile and infrastructure.
- $2.119 billion to support the operational nuclear naval fleet, Columbia-class submarine reactor development, and research and development for current and future generations of nuclear-powered warships.
- $2.445 billion to reduce the danger of hostile nations or terrorist groups acquiring nuclear devices, radiological dispersal devices, weapons-usable material, and nuclear expertise.
- Strengthens
our energy security and the national
economy by:
- Robustly funding small modular reactor and advanced reactor demonstration projects, key to regaining international dominance in the nuclear market.
- Supporting one of the largest investments specifically focused on mining production technologies for critical minerals extraction in decades, reducing reliance on foreign sources.
- Rejecting the Biden Administration’s harmful pause on new LNG exports by removing the Department of Energy’s role in the LNG export application review process.
- Prohibiting modifications to Corps of Engineers nationwide permits critical for oil and gas development.
- Safeguarding
energy and technology assets from
being used by foreign adversaries,
such as Russia and China.
- Prohibiting the Administration from selling crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Chinese Communist Party.
- Prohibiting the Department of Energy from providing financial assistance to any entity of concern.
- Prohibiting access to U.S. nuclear weapons production facilities by citizens of China and Russia.
- Prohibiting the procurement of office equipment manufactured by Chinese companies.
- Facilitating the efficient transport of goods and commodities through improvements and maintenance of ports and waterways.
- Focuses
the Executive Branch on its core
responsibilities by:
- Mandating transparency from the Biden Administration in its implementation of the revised definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA.
- Rejecting the Biden Administration’s efforts to undermine water supply security in California.
- Rejecting the Biden Administration’s wasteful spending on climate change programs and prohibiting implementation of costly and impractical clean energy mandates.
- Supports
American values and principles by:
- Allowing for the lawful carry of firearms of Corps of Engineers land in a manner consistent with state law and consistent with existing rules for other public land management agencies.
- Prohibiting the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Prohibiting funds to promote or advance critical race theory.
- Allowing only the American flag and other official flags to be flown over federal government facilities.
- Prohibiting funds to implement COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates.
A summary of the bill is available here.
Bill text is available here.
