Springing into action - looking ahead to the next few months in Washington, DC
ECA Staff | 4/21/2022
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Lawmakers in the nation’s capital will be springing into action over the next few months to tackle the busy legislative slate ahead during this election year.
ECA anticipates the Hill’s schedule will play out similarly to previous election midterm years (all House members and 1/3 of the Senate are up for election), with spending bills pushed until after the election, though Congressional leaders have hinted that they will attempt to pass them by September 30, 2022 (the end of the fiscal year).
Appropriations
Summary: ECA expects, based on history, the House will pass many if not all of the appropriations bills before the August Congressional recess, while the Senate is unlikely to pass any appropriations bills until September or after the election. A continuing resolution (CR) is likely to be passed in mid-September, extending the deadline for appropriations until after the November elections. Since 2010, nearly all
appropriations bills have been passed after the elections.
POLITICO reported that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who is expected to become her party’s top appropriator in the upper chamber next year, has begun talks with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (R-MD) about passing appropriations bills individually and
on a shorter timescale.
“A goal we have in common is to try to move appropriations bills earlier and not have one huge omnibus," Collins said. "Now this year, that was virtually impossible because the administration was so late in even submitting a budget.”
Roll Call also reported on the House Appropriation Committee’s tentative plan to take up FY23 spending bills earlier in the year.
A source familiar with the plans predicts deliberations will begin in June, “teeing up potential floor votes in July, [and] subcommittees would mark up their first annual bills from June 13 to June 22. The full committee would hold its markups from June 22 through June 30.”
Both appropriations and National Defense Authorization Act hearings will continue over the coming months.
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The President’s Budget
We are still waiting on all of the details of the Administration budget. This month and next month, officials will continue to brief Congressional committees about the President’s FY 2023 budget. A hearing has not yet been scheduled for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss the White House’s requested funding for DOE.
ECA will continue to provide updates on the FY 2023 budget request as more information becomes available. For details on previous years’ requested and enacted funding levels, please visit ECA's Federal Budget Tracker.
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Based on the available information, DOE has requested increases for the Offices of
Environmental Management (EM), Nuclear Energy (NE), Science, Legacy Management (LM), and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Notably, the Department requested a lower amount for Nuclear Waste Disposal, which has been used to fund interim storage activities.
Within the EM budget request, the Administration requested a $200 million increase for defense environmental cleanup.
Additionally, ECA is pleased to see the Administration heed municipal calls for funding and requesting payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILT). This year, budget request includes a $1.4 million increase at Hanford and a $330,000 increase at Savannah River Site for PILT, which remain a critical source of funding to support the communities’ infrastructure, schools, and other services.
Infrastructure
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes more than $7.5 billion over a five-year span for electric vehicle charging networks, with a goal to construct half a million new chargers. This funding includes $2.5 billion for competitive grants for rural and underserved communities; the Department of Transportation (DOT) recently released
a toolkit designed for rural communities, businesses, governments, and organizations interested in electric vehicle infrastructure.
Direct funding to local communities, however, is not the case for most of the infrastructure dollars. The majority of the money, particularly for bridges and roads, is allocated to states, which will make the decision as to where and how the funds are spent.
POLITCO reported that in December, the Federal Highway Administration issued a memo “saying states should prioritize fixing existing assets first, a document that drew immediate opposition from Republicans who voted for the bill. In response to GOP criticism that DOT was subverting the will of Congress by issuing the memo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made clear that most of the funds will be spent by states on their priorities, just like they always have.
"It certainly reflects our priorities when it comes to discretionary grants, for example, as provided for in the law," Buttigieg said at a Senate EPW hearing in March, adding that DOT will consider "safety, the state of good repair, economic strength and resilience"
as it determines grant applications. "With regard to the formulas, the states will be making these calls."
The administration's philosophical aims for transforming transportation through equity and sustainability will, in many cases, be up against governors, state legislatures, and state-level transportation departments that can have different priorities.”
Recently in DC
In other DC news, renegotiations have begun on a climate and social spending package following the demise of the Build Back Better bill. The Administration has remained vague on the exact details of the bill, and is steering clear of hard deadlines for passage.
Additionally – in case you missed it – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court and will take to the bench this fall. With the Court at full capacity again following the Senate’s confirmation, Congress will turn to the legislative priorities outlined above.
Additional ECA reports on Washington, DC and related content may be found on the ECA webpage.
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DOE seeks applications for Civil Nuclear Credit Program
NE Communications | 4/19/2022
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is now seeking applications and sealed bid submissions under the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program to support the continued operation of U.S. nuclear reactors. This critical investment, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help avoid premature retirements of
nuclear reactors across the country due to financial hardship, preserve thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs to sustain local economies, and protect our nation’s largest source of clean, carbon-free electricity.
The guidance published Tuesday directs owners or operators of nuclear power reactors that are expected to shut down due to
economic circumstances on how to apply for funding to avoid premature closure. This includes instructions on formulating and submitting sealed bids for potential allocation of credits.
As urged by many public commenters who responded to the Request for Information (RFI) earlier this year, the first CNC award cycle will prioritize reactors that have already announced their intention to cease operations. Future CNC award cycles, including the second cycle to be launched in the first quarter in FY2023, will not be limited to nuclear reactors that have publicly announced their intentions to retire.
Applications for certification and sealed bids for credits for the first CNC award cycle must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on May 19.
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DOE breaks ground on advanced manufacturing collaborative
EM Update | 4/19/2022
Local officials along with leaders from DOE, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken) broke ground today on the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) facility to be built on the USC Aiken campus.
The facility will provide accessible, modern and flexible laboratory space for EM’s SRNL and its collaboration partners.
“The realization of the AMC is a win-win for the Department and for a unique community that has played such a key role in our national security, science and energy missions for decades,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “As the center for academic, commercial and government collaboration, the AMC will foster scientific and technology innovation while building the next generation workforce in a state-of-the-art facility.”
USC Aiken Chancellor Daniel Heimmermann thanked the Department and the Aiken County Commission for Higher Education (ACCHE) for locating the AMC on the USC Aiken campus and bringing together academia, industry and the national laboratories across the manufacturing sectors.
"USC Aiken is pleased to host the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative,” said Heimmermann. “This innovation hub will provide outstanding research and development opportunities for our students and create limitless opportunities for advancement in the various STEM fields throughout Aiken and the CSRA."
CSRA stands for Central Savannah River Area, a region that includes eight counties in South Carolina and 13 counties in Georgia.
The 60,000-square-foot facility will not only provide new laboratory, office and conference space suitable for advanced manufacturing research and development, but more importantly, it will house collaborative and research and development spaces for spinning innovative technologies into the Department and spinning them out into the commercial sector.
“The AMC will embody the modern concepts of manufacturing to include smart and digital manufacturing and remote and autonomous systems embracing the tenets of Industry 4.0 manufacturing,” SRNL Director Vahid Majidi said. "And it will accelerate the establishment of SRNL’s expanded core competencies by connecting scientists and engineers from across the Battelle Savannah River Alliance partnership.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina noted that after working on the project for over seven years, he was grateful to finally be breaking ground.
“This project will be an economic driver for the region and the state,” said Wilson. “The Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative will maximize industry and education and create more jobs in the Central Savannah River Area.”
The location of the facility was set up through a no-cost land lease agreement between the Department and the ACCHE. North Wind Construction Services was awarded the final design, construction and commissioning of the AMC facility. Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in 2024.
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NEW NUCLEAR
NUCLEAR ENERGY
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email [email protected].
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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