Appropriations for FY1999: Energy and Water Development II

CONTENTS FOR THIS SECTION

Title III: Department of Energy

Key Policy Issues

Research and Development Programs
Energy Resource R&D
Nuclear Energy
Science
National Security R&D

List of Tables

Table 6. Energy and Water Development Appropriations Title III: Department of Energy

Title III: Department of Energy

Table 6. Energy and Water Development Appropriations Title III: Department of Energy
(in millions of dollars)

*Senate bill increased solar and renewable funding by $70 million and decreased other programs by 1.6%. Not all line item figures reflect the 1.6% reduction.

Key Policy Issues

Research and Development Programs. For FY1999, DOE requested $6.78 billion for civilian and defense R&D activities, 10.8% above the FY1998 level. For civilian R&D programs, the request was $3.49 billion compared with $3.10 billion for FY1998, and for defense R&D (nuclear weapons) programs, the request was $3.28 billion compared with $3.02 billion for FY1998.

The Senate approved $6.58 billion for R&D, 3% below the request but 8.7% above FY1998. The House approved $6.51 billion for R&D, 3.6% below the request but 6.4% above FY1998. The Conference agreed upon $6.55 billion, 3.4% below the request but 8.1% above FY1998. Of that amount, the conferees directed that about $93.7 million should come from prior year funds. The actions suggest strong congressional support for basic research.

Energy Resource R&D. For programs under this heading, DOE requested a 17.5% increase for FY1999 compared to the FY1998 appropriation. DOE made this program a key element in the Administration's Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI) program. During the appropriations process, Congress expressed concern about whether support of the Initiative implied a commitment to the Kyoto accord.

The Senate approved $415.3 million for this program, including the $47.9 million funded under the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program. An amendment approved on the Senate floor added $69.8 million to the Appropriations Committee recommendation. The appropriation was about 5% below the request but about 20% above FY1998.

The House approved $351.6 million, including the $47.9 million funded by BES. The Committee expressed concern about the CCTI technology choices and urged DOE to focus more on long-term basic research rather than trying to commercialize technologies not yet ready for the market.

The conference approved $365.9 million including the $47.9 million funded by BES. Most of the funds added by a Senate floor amendment were not agreed to by the conferees.

The FY1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277) added $60 million to DOE's renewable energy programs.

Nuclear Energy. For nuclear energy programs -- including research and development, closing of surplus facilities, uranium programs, and international nuclear reactor safety -- the conference report provides $284 million, about $40 million below the DOE request. The conferees provided $19 million for a new DOE program to support innovative nuclear energy research projects (the "nuclear energy research initiative"), but nothing for a proposed program to improve the economic competitiveness of existing nuclear power plants ("nuclear energy plant optimization").

DOE's nuclear energy request, including the nuclear power initiatives, had been approved essentially intact by the Senate. However, the House had cut the Administration request by nearly $100 million, including a reduction of the nuclear energy research initiative to $5 million and rejection of the nuclear plant optimization program.

DOE justified its efforts to encourage the continued operation of commercial U.S. nuclear plants as an important element in meeting national goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, an argument strongly endorsed by the Senate panel. Because nuclear plants directly emit no carbon dioxide, the United States could reduce its annual emissions of carbon by up to 47 million metric tons if nuclear plants could be operated longer than currently anticipated, according to the DOE budget justification. Opponents have criticized the nuclear energy research proposals as providing wasteful subsidies to a failing industry. A similar nuclear research program proposed by DOE last year was rejected by Congress.

Funding for "electrometallurgical treatment" of DOE spent fuel has also drawn controversy. The conferees provided $45 million for the technology in FY1999. In that treatment process, metal fuel is melted and highly radioactive isotopes are electrically separated from uranium and plutonium. DOE contends that such treatment may be the best way to render certain types of spent fuel -- particularly from the closed Experimental Breeder Reactor II in Idaho -- safe for long-term storage and disposal.

Opponents contend that such treatment is unnecessary and that the process could be used for separating plutonium to make nuclear weapons. They note that the process uses much of the same technology and equipment developed for the plutonium-fueled Integral Fast Reactor, or Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor, which was canceled by Congress in 1993 partly because of concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation.

The conferees provided $3 million from the fissile materials control and disposition program for a joint U.S.-Russian project to develop an advanced reactor technology -- the gas-turbine modular helium reactor -- to destroy weapons plutonium. Russia would have to provide matching funds or equivalent in-kind contributions.

Science. DOE asked for an 11.1% increase for the basic research programs making up the science category. The largest increase, $167.6 million or 25.1%, was for the Basic Energy Sciences program. Most of that increase, $130 million, would be to begin construction of the spallation neutron source (SNS), which is designed to provide neutrons for use in research ranging from genetics to advanced materials. The facility is to cost $1.3 billion when completed in 2005. The High Energy Physics program requested a $30 million increase -- to $65 million -- for the U.S. contribution to the large hadron collider project at the Center for European Nuclear Research (CERN). Overall the HEP program asked for an $11 million increase.

The Senate appropriated $2.67 billion for the DOE for the science programs including the entire request for the SNS project for FY1999. This amount includes the Fusion Energy Sciences program account, which the Senate moved from the Energy Supply R&D account to the Science account. It also includes a 1.585% cut imposed by the amendment to help offset increased funding for solar and renewable energy R&D. Finally, another amendment adopted by the Senate added $7 million to the science total recommended by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The final appropriation was about 6% over the FY1998 appropriation.

The House appropriated $2.42 billion, 2.8% below the request, but 5.6% above FY1998. In making the recommendation, the Committee noted its strong support for DOE basic research programs. The House, while supporting the SNS, cited budget constraints in approving $100 million for FY1999 compared to the $157 million request. The House also declined to fund the request for DOE's portion of the Next Generation Internet initiative.

The conference agreed to $2.70 billion, 2.5% below the request but 7.1% above FY1998. The large increase above the House-approved amount was due primarily to the transfer of the Fusion Energy Science program from the Energy Supply R&D programs to the Science programs. The conferees approved $130 million for the SNS, $27 million below the request but above the House approved amount. In the fusion budget, the conferees included funds to complete R&D on the International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) project, but directed DOE not to sign an extension of the ITER agreement without written consent of Congress. The conferees also approved the House mark for the high energy and nuclear physics programs, which would provide a small increase above the request. The conferees did not provide any funds for DOE's portion of the Administration's Next Generation Internet initiative.

National Security R&D. DOE requested an 11.5% increase for Stockpile Stewardship and Maintenance (SSM) over FY1998. The Stockpile Stewardship program, which is charged with developing the scientific basis for maintaining the safety, reliability, and performance of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing, requested a 17.8% increase over FY1998, most of which would go to the accelerated strategic computing initiative (ASCI) and continued construction of the national ignition facility (NIF). The ASCI program is designed to develop computer facilities and codes that are capable of simulating nuclear weapon explosions including changes in the explosion characteristics resulting from aging of the stockpile.

The Senate approved a reduction of $25 million from the request for the Stockpile Stewardship program, all of which would be in the ASCI account. The Senate expressed concern that the ASCI effort is growing faster than justified and that such growth may adversely affect other parts of the program.

The House supported a reduction of $65 million for the Stockpile Stewardship program from the request. The House committee expressed concern about the management of the program and existence of extraneous activities. The reduction, it stated, could be absorbed by greater efficiencies and management improvements. The House also directed that $305 million of prior year carryover balances be used for the FY1998 appropriation.

The conferees agreed on $2.14 billion for the Stockpile Stewardship program, half-way between the House and Senate marks. The reduction below the request, $40 million, was directed at the ASCI program and construction of new facilities. The conferees directed DOE to undertake an independent cost assessment of the latter projects before expending any FY1999 funds on them.

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