This bill would slash funding for applied energy research and development, even as foreign competitors double down to develop twenty-first century technology and undermine our markets through illegal dumping and intellectual property poaching.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your leadership and engagement with all members of the subcommittee in drafting the bill before us.
It is no easy task to work with an inadequate allocation - using CBO scoring the bill is $2.8 billion below last year and $462 million below 2008 levels - but you have included resources for many federal priorities, including the Corps of Engineers, the Advanced Manufacturing Office, nuclear safety and cleanup.
It is important to view this bill in terms of our nation's big picture needs.
Energy dependence is our chief strategic vulnerability, with dire effects for our military and our economy.
The United States continues to run up massive trade deficits - $588 million last year - that drive our budget deficit. Energy imports account for more than a quarter of that total.
That represents billions of energy dollars out of the pockets of the American people to create offshore jobs.
We must develop a more sustainable energy future.
America's economy is improving, and over the last 39 months, there has been steady net job creation. But, over 12 million Americans are still looking for work. Our funding bills must be job creation tools.
Department of Energy research and development bring emerging technology to production stage, creating new opportunities for America's workers, and the Corps of Engineers maintains our nation's critical infrastructure necessary to bring American goods to market.
Unfortunately, the overall allocation is simply too small to adequately address the needs of our nation.
This bill would slash funding for applied energy research and development, even as foreign competitors double down to develop twenty-first century technology and undermine our markets through illegal dumping and intellectual property poaching.
When China dumps millions of solar panels on the global market to drive out free-market competition, our answer must not be retreat, but advance - advance counterstrategies to retain our intellectual capital, advance our firms' ability to compete successfully on a unlevel global playing field, and advance our research and most promising technologies.
We are beginning to see the initial payoff from the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), which advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. This bill would effectively end the program.
Arresting America's future energy security is not a wise course. It is not visionary and it will not restore our path to independence in the face of stiff competition from our foreign competitors.
Even the bipartisan priority for Corps of Engineers funding cannot be met, given cuts beyond even sequestration levels. A $50 million reduction does nothing to address the $60 billion necessary to protect our nation against future natural disasters and keep our ports open for business.
The outrageous notion that we can balance our budget through cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, which account for only 17% of federal spending, will only harm our nation.
I look forward to returning allocations to acceptable levels and working with the Chairman and the members of this subcommittee to draft a bill I can support.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
