The House passed the bill( H.R. 106-60 )by the President September 29, 1999. Status of Energy and Water Appropriations,FY2000

	Overview

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil projects of the Army Corpsof Engineers, the Department of the Interior'sBureau of Reclamation, most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies, includingthe Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) andthe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). As with other FY2000 appropriations bills, the Energy and Water Subcommittees had difficulty meeting the spending allocations assigned them under Section 302(b) of the Budget Act. 2605 )recommended raising the Corps appropriation to $4.19 billion. The Houseand Senate Conference settled on $4.14 billion for the Corps of Engineers and $769.3 million for the Bureau ofReclamation. DOE programs funded by the Senate bill would have risen about 4% to $17.1 billion, about what the Administration requested. Energy and Water Development Appropriations Title I: Corps of Engineers (in millions ofdollars)

		Key Policy Issues -- Corps of Engineers

Funding for Corps of Engineers civil programs is often a contentious issue between the Administration and the Congress, with final appropriations bills typicallyfunding more projects than requested. Policy issues related to wetlands regulatory programs were addressed in the final bill. As approved by the House on July 27, the bill included two such provisions. The Administration proposed and thefinal bill included no new funding for thecontroversial Animas-La Plata water supply project in Colorado, and instead proposed allocating $3 million (witha recommendation of $2 million) from previousappropriations for preconstruction activities. P.L. In passing S. 1186 on June 16, the Senate voted to reject most of the requested increase, recommending $353.9 million for DOE's renewable energyprograms. The primary element of DOE's national security R&D request is the stockpilestewardship program, aimed at developing the science and technology to maintain the nation's nuclear weaponsstockpile in the absence of nuclear testing. Nonproliferation and National Security Programs. Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal. Bipartisan groups in both the House and Senate found this feature of the budget request controversial. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees sharply criticized NRC last year for allegedly failing to overhaul its regulatory system in line withimprovements in nuclear industry safety. Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal. Civilian Nuclear Spent Fuel Temporary Storage Options.
The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior'sBureau of Reclamation (BuRec), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Administration requested $22 billion forthese programs for FY2000. The House and Senate approved $21.3 billion.
Low allocations under Section 302 (b) of the Budget Act created difficulties for Appropriations Committees in both Houses. The Senate Committee responded bycutting water projects for the Corps and BuRec, and keeping DOE funding about at the requested level. The HouseAppropriations Committee increased moneyfor the Corps and cut about $1.5 billion from DOE, much of it in the weapons program. The Senate passed the bill( S. 1186 ) June 16, 1999. TheHouse passed its version of the bill ( H.R. 2605 ) July 27, 1999. The House-Senate Conference Committeereported out its agreement on September24, 1999, with some of the Senate cuts to the Corps, and some of the House cuts to DOE, restored. The bill wassigned by the President on September 29, 1999( P.L. 106-60 ).
Other key issues involving Energy and Water Development appropriations programs included:
Policy issues related to wetlands regulatory programs involving the Corps;
the Bureau of Reclamation's controversial Animas-La Plata project in Colorado, a large irrigation and tribal projects with likely controversialenvironmental impacts, for which the Administration requested no new appropriations in FY2000;
a pending decision by DOE on the electrometallurgical treatment of nuclear spent fuel for storage and disposal, a process that opponentscontend raises nuclear nonproliferation concerns;
proposed funding increases for DOE's accelerated computer simulation efforts to simulate nuclear weapons explosions and other importantaspects of the nuclear weapons stockpile;
increased funding for DOE's Nuclear Cities Initiative in Russia, to find alternative work for unemployed Russian nuclear weaponsdesigners;
NRC's plans to overhaul its regulatory system for nuclear power plant safety, as urged by the House and Senate AppropriationsCommittees;
The ongoing controversy over interim civilian nuclear waste storage; and
DOE's "privatization" program for nuclear waste cleanup.
Key Policy Staff
Division abbreviation: RSI = Resources, Science, and Industry.