Statement from Congressman Doc Hastings on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Bill

Statement from Congressman Doc Hastings on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Bill

Today, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee approved its Fiscal Year 2007 spending bill. Full details on the contents of the spending bill will not become public until the full House Appropriations Committee meets and approves the bill, which is scheduled for next week.

At today's Subcommittee meeting, it was announced that $600 million is provided for the Waste Treatment Plant project. This represents an increase of $74 million above the current fiscal year, but a reduction of $90 million from the President's budget request to Congress. The bill will also include several provisions related to WTP project management.

It was also announced that $20 million had been added to Hanford's budget for groundwater contamination technology work - funding that was not included in the President's budget request. The House added $10 million for groundwater contamination technology work for Fiscal Year 2006. Additional details about Hanford's budget will be available once the full House Appropriations Committee approves the bill.

Lastly, the Subcommittee approved an amendment that would prohibit the Department of Energy from implementing its recently announced pension policy.

A statement from Congressman Doc Hastings follows:

"This bill is being written without an official path forward for the vit plant from DOE, and there isn't going to be a final plan for months. I've been critical of DOE in the past, and the need for concrete information is clear. It's far from an ideal situation. We in Washington state are united in our support of DOE's requested funding level of $690 million. We've known its going to be a long process, and there is more work to do in the months ahead.

I am pleased, though, to have secured $20 million in additional funding to address groundwater cleanup and technology development; and, I look forward to announcing additional funding at Hanford as this bill moves forward.

I fully support the action to block DOE from implementing its recently announced pension policy changes next year. This policy change was both sudden and sweeping, which is a bad combination when it comes to workers' pension benefits. At the top of my list of concerns is whether the announced policy would fully protect those covered by existing pension plans. It's critical that the policy specifics match up with DOE's public statements on grandfathering workers."

http://hastings.house.gov/Read.aspx?ID=642