Senate Passes DOE Appropriations
On July 30, the Senate approved its version of the FY 1997 appropriations bill for Energy and Water Development, which funds most of the Department of Energy. The funding recommendations for Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, and General Science and Research Activities (comprising High Energy and Nuclear Physics) remain the same as those passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 16 (see FYIs #109-112.) In introducing the bill, Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) stated, "...in this budget we have maintained an effort in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, biological and environmental research second to none in the world.... America is the leader there, and we should continue to be the leader.”
During three days of floor debate, a number of amendments were offered. One major change to the bill was the addition of $23 million to DOE’s solar and renewable energy account, increasing this account to $269.7 million (FY 1996 funding was $275.2 million.) As in the House, an amendment to eliminate funding for the Advanced Light Water Reactor under the nuclear energy account failed, by a vote of 45-53.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) sponsored an amendment to remove language from the bill stating that funds made available by the act should be used “only in accordance with the recommendations contained in this [Appropriations Committee] report.” The amendment clarified that recommendations made in the Committee report - which accompanies the bill but is not voted on - do not have the force of law. “We are talking about a very important issue here;" McCain said, “that is, the differentiation between report language and bill language.” He explained his amendment as follows: “The effective language contained in this bill - before the amendment - I believe was dangerous for two reasons. First, by giving report language the force of law, we essentially passed statutory language that has not been agreed to by both Houses and signed into law. This is, on its face, unconstitutional.... Second, by codifying report language, which is written by the staffs of the 13 full committee chairmen, you have essentially disenfranchised every other Senator of his or her right to amend legislation. Report language cannot be amended.... No one but that chairman that writes it can dictate what is in report language.”
Domenici argued that “without the proposed language, the DOE does not have to follow the Senate’s guidance.” However, McCain’s amendment passed, with the modification that the Department of Energy would be required to provide the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee with regular reports on its compliance with the bill.
The Senate, which had been working with its own separate Energy and Water Development bill, S. 1959, at this time voted to substitute its language into the House bill, H.R. 3816. The Senate version provides a total of $887 million more for the programs in the bill than does the House (see FYI #117 for floor consideration of the House version.) Much of the additional funds in the Senate bill go toward nuclear stockpile stewardship and environmental clean-up within DOE’s defense programs. A conference between the House and Senate to reconcile the two versions of H.R. 3816 will wait until after Congress’ August recess.
The Senate has already appointed its conferees: Domenici, Mark Hatfield (R-OR), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Slade Gorton (R-WA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Conrad Burns (R-MT), J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Ernest Hollings (D-SC), Harry Reid (D-NV), Robert Kerrey (NE), and Patty Murray (D-WA). The House conferees have not yet been named.
