House and Senate Appropriations Committee Report Language: DOE

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved, on July 16, differing versions of a fiscal year 1997 Energy and Water Development bill. In contrast to the usual appropriations procedure, the Senate did not wait for the full House to pass the bill before marking up its own version. While the energy and water bill, which funds most programs within the Department of Energy, is usually one of the first appropriations bills passed by the House, this year it was delayed by House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Myers (R-IN), in protest over his subcommittee’s allocation.

Both the House and Senate bills (H.R. 3816 and S. 1959, respectively) are accompanied by committee reports which explain in greater detail the Committees’ guidelines for the programs funded in the bills. Below are quotes on general DOE funding from the House and Senate report language, followed by their funding recommendations for selected physics-related programs within DOE. Subsequent FYIs will contain specific report language on these programs.

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT (H. Report 104-679):

“Funding recommendations for Department of Energy programs in fiscal year 1997 are significantly below the Department’s fiscal year 1997 budget request, reflecting the continuing realities of reducing the deficit and balancing the budget. These funding levels are not a one time occurrence with the prospect of increasing appropriations in fiscal year 1998; rather, they reflect the new baseline for Department of Energy funding. Absorbing these reductions will require considerable effort on the part of the Department to prioritize activities and seek the most cost-effective means for accomplishing program goals. The Department must focus on specific core program missions and reduce the number of activities currently being performed which may be nice to do, but are not possible in a severely constrained funding environment.”

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS:

DOE Account 1996 Approp. (in millions) 1997 Budg. est. House Report

Fusion $244.1 255.6 225.0
Basic Energy Sciences 791.7 653.7 643.0
Gen. Science and Research Activities 981.0 1,009.2 996.0

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT (S. Report 104-320):

“As was the case with the Committee’s recommendation for fiscal year 1996, funding recommendations for Department of Energy programs in fiscal year 1997 are significantly below the Department’s fiscal year 1997 budget request in many areas. Because this trend can be expected to continue, the Department should not delay efforts to reduce the scope of certain programs and the number of Federal employees at headquarters and in the field.”

“Laboratory Management: The Committee concurs with the insights of the Galvin task force regarding the management of Department laboratories. The Committee is frustrated by the Department’s lack of progress in either implementing the far-reaching solutions proposed by the Galvin report or proposing alternative solutions to the inefficient and oppressive oversight and regulation endured by the laboratories. The Department’s inability to make meaningful reforms in these areas has resulted in increased cost and reduced productivity at the national laboratories that, if allowed to continue, could jeopardize the laboratories’ ability to fulfill their missions.

“The Committee is encouraged by DOE’s ongoing consideration of moving to outside regulation of the laboratories and strongly endorses any approach that removes the duplication of oversight that currently exists between DOE and outside regulators.”

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS:

DOE Account 1996 Approp. (in millions) 1997 Budg. est. Senate Report

Fusion $244.1 255.6 240.0
Basic Energy Sciences 791.7 653.7 649.7
Gen. Science and Research Activities 981.0 1,009.2 1,000.6

Floor action in the House is expected early next week; the Senate might take up its version of the bill later in the week.