2754 ) containingFY2004 appropriations of $27.08 billion, and the House passed the bill with the same funding onJuly 18. The Senate passed a $27.38 billion version of H.R. 2754 on September 16. The conference committee on the bill approved $27.33 billion on November 5, 2003 ( H.Rept.108-357 ), and both the House and the Senate agreed to the conference report on November 18. The President signed the bill January 23 ( P.L. Status of Energy and Water DevelopmentAppropriations, FY2004

	Overview

The Energy and Water Development bill includes funding for civil worksprojects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau ofReclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number ofindependent agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and theAppalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The Bush Administration's request was$26.946 billion for these programs for FY2004, compared with $26.198 billionappropriated for FY2003. The Administration asked for $891 million for FY2004 for the Department of the Interior programs included in the Energy and Water Development bill -- theBureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project. Key Policy Issues -- Corps of Engineers

Funding Level. Everglades. Science. Similarly, theSenate passed its version of H.R. 108-137 ) on December 1. Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP). Nonproliferation and National Security Programs. The increased budget wasintended primarily to pay for preparing a construction permit application for anational nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Nuclear Power Plants: Vulnerability to Terrorist Attack .
The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation(BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The BushAdministration requested $26.95 billion for these programs for FY2004 compared with $26.20billion appropriated for FY2003. On July 18 the House passed a bill, H.R. 2754 , containing appropriations of $27.08 billion. On September 16 the Senate passed its version of H.R.2754, funding energy and water development programs at $27.38 billion. The conferencecommittee on the bill approved $27.33 billion on November 5, 2003. Both the House and the Senateagreed to the conference report on November 18, and the President signed the bill December 1 ( P.L.108-137 ).
Key issues involving Energy and Water Development appropriations programs include:
funding and progress of Corps projects not considered priorities by the Administration;
funding for major water/ecosystem restoration initiatives such as Florida Everglades and California "Bay-Delta";
funding for the proposed national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada;
funding for developing a new nuclear warhead, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator; and
DOE's "Nuclear Power 2010" initiative, to "identify the technical, institutional and regulatory barriers to the deployment of new nuclear power plants by2010."
This report will be updated as events warrant.
Key Policy Staff
Division abbreviations: RSI = Resources, Science, and Industry; FDT= Foreign Affairs, Defense,and Trade.