[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 110 (Thursday, July 21, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2354) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Fiscal Year 2012 
Energy and Water Appropriations bill. At a time when our economy is 
already fragile, the Majority appears intent on reducing Federal 
funding for the very programs that drive technological innovation, 
economic growth, and job creation.
  Scientific research lies at the very heart of the national innovation 
system that keeps us competitive, enhances our quality of life, fuels 
our economy, and improves our national security. Investments in our 
Federal science agencies and our national innovation infrastructure are 
not big government spending programs that we cannot afford. They are 
minimum down-payments on our country's national security, public 
health, and economic vitality that we cannot afford to postpone.
  Yet, this bill contains enormous cuts to several programs at the 
Department of Energy that are critical for supporting innovation and 
increasing American economic competitiveness.
  This bill slashes nearly $43 million in funding from the Department 
of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science compared to Fiscal Year 2011. The 
Office of Science is the Nation's primary sponsor of research in the 
physical sciences and has been integral to the development of dozens of 
innovative technologies. Some have become the underpinnings of modem 
scientific disciplines; some have revolutionized medicine; some have 
advanced our national energy security; some have made our troops safer. 
That is the nature and the power of scientific research--the ultimate 
outcomes cannot necessarily be known in advance, but investments in 
basic discovery can yield enormous dividends. I offered an amendment to 
restore funding to the DOE Office of Science so that it could maintain 
current operations. Unfortunately, my amendment was defeated.
  This bill provided $100 million for the Department of Energy's 
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ARPA-E supports 
high-risk, high-reward research on energy technologies. Funding for 
ARPA-E directly contributes to the creation of new technologies, new 
industries, and new jobs. Yet, the Majority intended to slash funding 
for this valuable program by an astonishing 81 percent relative to the 
President's request.
  Fortunately, the House passed an amendment offered by my colleague 
Mr. Schiff that will restore funding for ARPA-E to Fiscal Year 2011 
levels. I was pleased to join my colleagues in voting for this 
important amendment.
  This legislation contains $1.3 billion for energy efficiency and 
renewable energy programs, a remarkable 59 percent less than President 
Obama's request. This is the worst possible moment to slash funding for 
sustainable energy technologies. The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy supports research and development of sustainable 
energy technologies that strengthen the economy and protect the 
environment. Research in sustainable and efficient energy technologies 
increases our energy security, reduces our dependence on foreign oil, 
creates jobs, and increases our economic competitiveness. Yet the 
Majority made devastating cuts to this valuable program.
  Remarkably, the Majority was not satisfied with these cuts to energy 
efficiency programs. The House adopted by voice vote an amendment that 
would bar the Department of Energy from using funds to enforce energy 
efficiency standards for light bulbs enacted by the Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007. Yet, just days before, the House rejected an 
identical measure. This efficiency standard, enacted in a bipartisan 
bill signed into law by President Bush, simply requires that new light 
bulbs use 25 to 30 percent less energy than traditional incandescent 
light bulbs. No light bulbs are banned. No consumers will be forced to 
use one type of light bulb over another type.
  Since Congress acted 4 years ago, lighting companies have invested 
significant capital and resources into research, development, and new 
technologies--exactly the kind of investments that our economy 
desperately needs. So again, the Majority has voted to thwart 
technological progress and cost America jobs and money.
  While I do not object to the committee's decision to add disaster 
relief funding for projects resulting from tornadoes, storms, and 
floods across the Midwest and Southeast, I oppose strongly the decision 
to rescind $1 billion in unobligated funding for high-speed rail 
projects. In May, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Amtrak 
$450 million in funding to upgrade its rail infrastructure to support 
more frequent and faster high-speed rail service, and to improve 
reliability of current service between New York and Washington. Now 
this funding will be unavailable. This will result in a loss of jobs 
and infrastructure in my Central New Jersey district--one of the 
busiest segments of the Northeast Corridor and where the densest 
concentration of Acela Express high-speed rail operations occurs. This 
provision amounts to a step backward in the development of the nation's 
intercity rail infrastructure.
  In May, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Amtrak $450 
million in funding to upgrade its rail infrastructure to support more 
frequent and faster high-speed rail service, and to improve reliability 
of current service between New York and Washington. Specifically, this 
award would upgrade electrical power, signal systems, track and 
overhead catenary wires in my Central New Jersey district--one of the 
busiest segments of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and where the densest 
concentration of Acela Express high-speed rail operations occurs. This 
work is critical to Amtrak's plan to double high-speed Acela service 
between New York and Washington by 2022.
  Budgets reflect, in dollars and cents, our priorities as a nation. We 
must provide Federal support for programs that encourage scientific 
research and support economic development. At a time when our economy 
is already fragile, abandoning scientific research would cause the U.S. 
to lose even more high-tech jobs to our foreign competitors. That is 
not the way to compete in the future, especially when the economy is in 
a fragile recovery. For all of these reasons, I am voting against this 
bill.

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