Upcoming Conference on Energy and Water Development Appropriations

Before the month is out, Congress hopes to have held House-Senate conferences on most, if not all, of the remaining FY 1997 appropriations bills, including H.R. 3816, which funds most of the Department of Energy. Conferences are held to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. This final version of the bill, called the conference report, returns to the full House and Senate for final approval before going on to the President for his signature.

While no date has yet been scheduled for the conference, the conferees have been named as follows:

FOR THE HOUSE (District offices provided for geographical perspective):

John Myers (R-IN/7th District) (subcommittee chairman) Terre Haute, Lafayette Tom Bevill (D-AL/4th District) (ranking member) Gadsden, Cullman, Jasper Harold Rogers (R-KY/5th District) Somerset, Hazard, Pikeville Joe Knollenberg (R-MI/11th District) Farmington Hills, Livonia Frank Riggs (R-CA/1st District) Napa, Eureka Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ/11th District) Morristown, Dover, West Caldwell Jim Bunn (R-OR/5th District) Salem Mike Parker (R-MS/4th District) Jackson, Brookhaven, Columbia, Natchez, Mendenhall, Laurel Vic Fazio (D-CA/3rd District) Woodland, Red Bluff Jim Chapman (D-TX/1st District) Sulpher Springs, Marshall, New Boston Peter Visclosky (D-IN/1st District) Gary, Portage, Valparaiso Robert Livingston (R-LA/1st District) (chairman of full appropriations committee) Metairie, Hammond, Slidell David Obey (D-WI/7th District) (ranking minority member of full committee) Wausau

FOR THE SENATE:

Pete Domenici (R-NM) (subcommittee chairman) J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA) (ranking member) Mark Hatfield (R-OR) (chairman of full appropriations committee) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Slade Gorton (R-WA) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Robert Bennett (R-UT) Conrad Burns (R-MT) Robert Byrd (D-WV) (ranking minority member of full committee) Ernest Hollings (D-SC) Harry Reid (D-NV) Robert Kerrey (D-NE) Patty Murray (D-WA)

The House completed action on H.R. 3816 on July 25; the Senate, on July 30. There are significant differences that will need to be resolved in funding for physics-related programs within DOE. In all the cases highlighted below, the Senate bill would provide more funding than the House:

*FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES: The Senate provides $240 million compared to $225 million in the House bill. *BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES: The Senate provides $650 million compared to $643 million in the House bill. GENERAL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: This account funds High Energy and Nuclear Physics. For High Energy Physics, the Senate provides $673 million compared to $672 million in the House bill. For Nuclear Physics, the Senate provides $318 million compared to $313 million in the House bill.

*On the floor, the House approved an amendment to reduce all Energy Supply, Research and Development activities (including Fusion and Basic Energy Sciences) by an additional 0.47 percent below the amounts cited here. This reduction would offset an increase to Renewable Energy R&D.

The telephone number for the U.S. Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.