States Urge Congress To Increase FY14 Funding For DOE Nuclear Cleanups

摘要

State environmental agencies are urging Congress to boost funding for the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear cleanup budget in fiscal year 2014, warning the cleanup program will face "debilitating problems" if lawmakers continue to cut funding as proposed in pending House and Senate appropriations bills for DOE's FY14 budget. In an Aug. 6 letter to key lawmakers on the House and Senate appropriations committee and defense authorization committees, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) urges the lawmakers to enact a total DOE cleanup budget of $5.9 billion - a level significantly higher than either the House or Senate has proposed for fiscal year 2014 and higher than DOE's FY14 budget request. The Senate has proposed funding the cleanup program at $5.38 billion for FY14, while the House proposes to fund them at $5.25 billion. ECOS says it is unclear whether sequestration would further reduce those amounts to $4.96 billion for the Senate and $4.83 billion for the House.