Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 4923 is far from a perfect bill. I have serious concerns about some of the policy riders in the bill, and I am disappointed that it does not contain higher funding for renewable energy programs, but there are a number of important programs that receive the funding they desperately need. We all know that tough choices have to be made within the overall funding allocations, and I want to thank subcommittee Chair SIMPSON and Ranking Member Kaptur for their hard work on the bill.

Earlier this year, I joined with 79 of our colleagues in support of strong funding for two important energy efficiencies programs at the Department of Energy: the Weatherization Assistance Program and the State Energy Program. These programs were underfunded in recent House appropriations bills, and I am pleased that this bill includes a significant improvement in the funding status for these two programs.

I want to thank my colleagues for joining me in expressing support for these programs to the committee earlier this year, and again, I thank the subcommittee chair and ranking member for responding to our requests for robust funding for these programs.

The Weatherization and State Energy Programs not only help our citizens to use energy more efficiently and effectively, these programs create and sustain jobs in communities across our great Nation. Energy efficiency improvements make homes more comfortable and keep utility costs affordable. They also create jobs for small business contractors in local communities.

The Weatherization Assistance Program enables seniors and veterans and persons with disabilities and families with low incomes to make energy efficiency improvements that they would otherwise not be able to afford. Lowering their energy bills frees up limited income they can use toward other essentials like food purchases and medicines. DOE estimates savings from weatherizing a home of over $400 per year. That is real money to many families who are struggling to make ends meet.

The State Energy Program enables our home States to develop and implement their own energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, projects that are tailored to address the very specific needs of our individual States.

The electricity sector is undergoing, as we all know, a significant transformation. The old model of one-way distribution from central generation points is giving way to systems with more distributed generation. Grids need to be upgraded and are becoming smarter; security issues need attention; and changing economics, fuel mix, and regulations are also catalyzing changes in this sector. State Energy Programs have an important role to play in this transformation, and support for these programs will be very helpful to States as they work through these changes.

On a separate issue, together with our colleagues Representative Owens and Representative Gibson, both of New York, we called for robust funding for DOE's Naval Reactors Program. The $1.2 billion included for naval reactors in this bill is critical to support three long-term projects: the Ohio class replacement, the spent fuel handling facility, and research and training reactor maintenance.

Over the past 5 years, Naval Reactors has been funded below requirements by over $450 million, including $151 million below the President's fiscal year '14 request. While I was disappointed to see Naval Reactors at $162 million below this year's request, I do thank the committee for including some very important report language.

The work done at the Kesselring site and the Knolls Atomic Power Lab is essential to our national security and our Navy's readiness. The training reactors at the Kesselring site in upstate New York are critical to training nuclear-qualified sailors. Earlier this year, unfunded maintenance and repair costs threatened to shut down one of the site's two reactors, which would have resulted in 450 fewer nuclear-qualified sailors in the fleet next year.

This bill requires significant funding for training reactor operations and maintenance at the Kesselring site and fully funds development of the Ohio replacement at KAPL, which cannot afford further delays. I hope that we can work together to make sure this critical program is fully funded moving forward to ensure that the Navy's nuclear-powered fleet has the resources, sailors, and research it needs to operate effectively and safely.

Finally, I am also pleased to see that the ARPA-E program receives robust funding in this bill. ARPA-E is an important program. Its mission to tackle big challenges in energy and move promising technologies forward into the market through strategic partnerships between government, universities, and businesses is vital to our long-term economic and energy security.

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