Mark Holt and Anna E. Normand authored this CRS report (updated: 20 March 2023): 'Energy and Water Development - FY2023 Appropriations'.
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Summary
The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill funds civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP); the Department of Energy (DOE); the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC); and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s funding.Overall Funding Totals
President Biden submitted his FY2023 budget request on March 28, 2022. The Administration request included $57.548 billion for energy and water development agencies, an increase of $1.972 billion (4%) above the FY2022 enacted amount, excluding emergency appropriations and adjustments.The House passed the FY2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill as part of the six-bill Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 8294) on July 20, 2022, following House Appropriations Committee approval of a stand-alone measure on June 28, 2022 (H.R. 8255, H.Rept. 117-394). Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, introduced an FY2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill July 28, 2022 (S. 4660), and posted a draft explanatory statement on the Appropriations Committee website.
FY2023 Energy and Water Development funding was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, passed by Congress December 22, 2022, and signed into law December 29, 2022 (P.L. 118-328). Excluding emergency supplementals and rescissions, the Consolidated Appropriations Act provides a total of $59.204 billion, 7% above the FY2022 enacted level, as shown below:
Major Issues
Congressional debate on Energy and Water Development appropriations for FY2023 includes several major initiatives and issues. Some examples follow: Western Drought. The Administration proposed funding for several Reclamation drought response-related activities, which was increased by the enacted appropriations measure. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, P.L. 117-169) provided Reclamation with $4.588 billion to address drought mitigation and related issues
Increased Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The Administration requested an EERE increase of $819 million (26%) over the FY2022 enacted amount, to $4.019 billion, excluding several large EERE programs that are proposed to become separate offices. The enacted measure provided $3.460 billion for EERE, including funding for the proposed separate offices. These amounts would be in addition to $2.222 billion appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58) for EERE for FY2023 and $10.000 billion by IRA for energy efficiency through FY2031.
Establishment of Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The Administration requested $214 million in FY2023 to continue the startup of the DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The enacted measure provided $89 million, although that amount is in addition to $4.426 billion appropriated by IIJA for the new office for FY2023 and $5.812 billion by IRA through FY2026.
Introduction and Overview
The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in Title I; the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP), in Title II; the Department of Energy (DOE), in Title III; and a number of independent agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in Title IV. Figure 1 compares the major components of the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill from FY2021 through FY2023.
President Biden submitted his FY2023 budget request on March 28, 2022. The Administration request included $57.548 billion for energy and water development agencies, an increase of $1.972 billion (4%) above the FY2022 enacted amount, excluding emergency appropriations and adjustments. DOE funding would have risen by $4.149 billion (9%) and independent agencies by $55 million (12%), while USACE was to be reduced by $1.742 million (-21%), and Reclamation and CUP by $490 million (-25%).
The House passed the FY2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill on July 20, 2022, as part of a “minibus” package of six FY2023 appropriations bills (H.R. 8294), by a 220-207 vote. The House Appropriations Committee had approved the stand-alone Energy and Water Development appropriations bill on June 28, 2022, by a vote of 32-26 (H.R. 8255, H.Rept. 117-394). The House-passed bill totaled $59.664 billion, excluding rescissions and scorekeeping adjustments, an increase of $4.088 billion (7%) over the enacted FY2022 amount and 4% above the Administration request. DOE funding in the bill totaled $48.340 billion, an increase of $3.485 billion (8%) over the FY022 enacted level and a decrease of 1% from the request. The bill wouldhave provided $8.889 billion for USACE, $546 million (7%) above FY2022 and 35% above the request. Reclamation and CUP would have received $1.914 billion, $10 million (-1%) below the FY2022 enacted amount but 33% above the request. The bill included $521 million for independent agencies, $68 million (15%) above the FY2022 enacted amount and 3% above the request.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, introduced an FY2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill July 28, 2022 (S. 4660), and posted a draft explanatory statement on the Appropriations Committee website.1 The bill’s total of $60.685 billion, excluding rescissions and adjustments, was 9% above the FY2022 enacted amount and 5% above the Administration request. Senator Richard Shelby, the Appropriations Committee’s Republican vice chairman, referred to S. 4660 and other FY2023 appropriations bills introduced by Appropriations Committee Democratic leaders as “partisan appropriations bills that spend billions more than even the Administration’s wasteful request.”2 Committee action on the FY2023 appropriations bills did not occur.
FY2023 Energy and Water Development funding was included in Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, passed by Congress December 22, 2022, and signed into law December 29, 2022 (P.L. 118-328). Excluding emergency supplementals and rescissions, the Consolidated Appropriations Act provides a total of $59.204 billion, 7% above the FY2022 enacted level. Division M of the act included emergency additional FY2023 appropriations of $300 million for Nuclear Energy and $126 million for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Division N also provided supplemental appropriations of $1.480 billion for USACE, $1.000 billion for DOE’s Electricity account to improve Puerto Rico’s electricity grid, and $520 million for the Western Area Power Administration.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (DRSAA; P.L. 117-43), and budget reconciliation measure commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; P.L. 117-169) provided additional appropriations for energy and water development agencies, above the enacted amounts in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2022 and FY2023. For FY2022, IIJA and DRSAA appropriated an additional $41.923 billion for energy and water agencies, with another $16.040 billion provided by IIJA for FY2023. IRA appropriated $4.588 billion for Reclamation and $35.067 billion for DOE for FY2022, to remain available for as long as through FY2031.
Cutting to the chase:
Congressional Hearings
The following hearings were held by the Energy and Water Development subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the FY2023 budget request. Testimony andopening statements are posted on most of the web pages cited for each hearing, along with webcasts in many cases.House
Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, April 27, 2022, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fy-2023-budget-request-us-army-corps-engineers-and-bureau-reclamation
Department of Energy, April 28, 2022, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fy-2023-budget-request-department-energy
National Nuclear Security Administration and Environmental Management, May 11, 2022, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fy23-budget-national-nuclear-security-administration-and-environmental
Department of Energy Science and Energy Programs, May 12, 2022, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/fy-2023-budget-request-department-energy-science-and-energy-programs
Senate
Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, April 6, 2022, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-fiscal-year-2023-budget-submission-for-the-us-army-corps-of-engineers-and-the-bureau-of-reclamation
Department of Energy, May 4, 2022, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-fiscal-year-2023-budget-submission-for-the-us-department-of-energy
National Nuclear Security Administration, May 18, 2022, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-fiscal-year-2023-budget-submission-for-national-nuclear-security-administration
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"We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one." - Jacques Cousteau
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