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NewsDecember 21, 2007FY’08 Energy and Environmental Appropriations FinalCongress completed it work on the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills this week by combining the remaining funding bills into an omnibus measure. The final bill has been cleared by White House staff and will likely be signed by the President in the next several days. Funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is even more robust than expected, with final funding for nearly every program topping the Administration’s request and in many cases exceeding last year’s record appropriations. The bill provides $1,739,541,000 for EERE, as compared to the little more than $1 billion in funding several years ago. A memo with details of the bill, and a funding summary taken directly from the final Omnibus report language can be accessed by clicking here. The entire omnibus report language file can be accessed by clicking here. Within that file, EERE’s programs begin on page 30 (number on the bottom of the document page, not the PDF file page number) of the document, and the earmarks are specified beginning on page 32. EPA Climate and Energy Programs AppropriationsThe omnibus appropriations act funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is included in the Interior and the Environment portion of the bill. Of particular interest to ASERTTI members is funding for the ENERGY STAR program at $52 million, $8 million above the President’s request and $6 million above 2007, and funding for the Methane to Markets program of $4.4 million. The final report language also provides $250,000 for the Agency to modify existing programs to accommodate quality assurance and quality control for emissions submitted via and regulated by the established northeastern Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). A memo on EPA's funding can be accessed by clicking here. For more information please contact David Terry at ASERTTI. |