House Appropriations Committee Holds Hearing on FY 2024 Energy Budget ECA Staff | 3/23/2023
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Today, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
testified before the House Appropriations Energy & Water Development Subcommittee to justify the Administration’s FY 2024 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE). ECA’s recap of the new budget proposal is available here.
In Secretary Granholm’s opening remarks, she highlighted the $8.3 billion in funding for the Office of Environmental Management (EM), noting, “This investment will enable the Department of Energy to treat radioactive tank waste, take down contaminated buildings, and ship and dispose legacy waste and clean
soil and groundwater across Environmental Management sites.”
Secretary Granholm also discussed the record-high $23.8 billion budget proposal for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which would support infrastructure improvements and plutonium modernization.
Finally, she highlighted several other DOE funding requests,
including investments in clean energy jobs and infrastructure, research at national laboratories and universities, and strengthening the energy supply chain.
Nuclear Energy
Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) noted that he was “pleased to see strong funding” for missions, such as
nuclear security and environmental cleanup. However, he expressed concern about the 12 percent reduction in the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) budget compared to the FY 2023 level. He explained, “Nuclear energy, a base load carbon-free source of electricity, will be essential in achieving any climate change goals, so it is difficult to understand such a large cut, especially as other programs see double- and triple-digit increases.”
Granholm addressed the proposed cut to the NE budget in response to a question from Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS): “The budget decrease was only related to the two Advanced Reactor Demonstration Projects that were in fact funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. So those reactors are still happening, but they’re over in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations…Nuclear is still supported in this budget, it’s just going to a different place in the
budget.”
Consent-Based Siting and Nuclear Waste
Congresswoman Susie Lee (D-NV) asked Secretary Granholm if the Department remains committed to consent-based siting as the path forward for nuclear waste management, to which the Secretary agreed.
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) asked Secretary Granholm about whether the Department is exploring reprocessing of nuclear waste. The Secretary noted DOE is investing efforts at Idaho National Laboratory to study whether reprocessing could become affordable in the future. She expressed that “it could be a—not the—but a solution to some of the issues of waste.”
Community-Focused Funding
Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) asked Secretary Granholm about how the budget would support communities, especially those considered disadvantaged communities. Secretary Granholm emphasized that there are several programs that address this issue, such as the newly created Office of State and Community Energy
Programs, which will offer technical assistance to economically disadvantaged communities; the Local Government Energy Program; and a “Clean Energy to Communities” initiative. Her opening remarks also mentioned the $70 million request for the Community Capacity Building Program.
Potential Cuts to Appropriations
Secretary Granholm was asked about the impact of potential funding cuts proposed by the House majority to FY 2022 levels. Granholm argued that if appropriations were cut to those levels, “…there would be over 5,000 people cut from our labs…the warhead modernization program would be significantly hampered, delayed one to two years.” She detailed more about the potential impacts of decreasing the DOE budget in a letter to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) last week.
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REGISTRATION IS OPEN! September 11-13,
2023
Arlington, VA Join us for the 9th annual National Cleanup Workshop at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Register today to hear from senior DOE leaders, local government officials, and industry leaders about the future of DOE’s Environmental Management program. *Rates
increase on July 1, 2023.
If you have questions or are interested in sponsorship, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com. For more information, please visit cleanupworkshop.com.
As part of ECA's New Nuclear Initiative, the second annual ECA Forum will bring communities, SMR and advanced nuclear project developers, federal and state governments together to enable shared learning and to build the partnerships necessary to address opportunities for new nuclear development. |
Disposal Drives Cleanup: Re-energizing Momentum for Disposal Solutions for Radioactive Waste Read the new ECA report that calls on the Department of Energy to launch the initiative to develop the actual waste disposition approaches. The Department could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs by using its available tools and implementing the report’s recommendations.
Interactive guide for communities and governments to help navigate nuclear waste cleanup The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) recently released the Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup, an interactive online resource that provides frequently asked questions, case studies, and recommendations regarding nuclear waste cleanup. To assist local government officials, their communities, and federal agencies in deciphering the
complexities of the environmental cleanup process, ECA developed this guide to facilitate future successful cleanups. |
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories,
highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments. |
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