Introduction and Overview

The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations (E&W) bill includes funding for civil works activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the Department of Defense, in Title I; the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP), in Title II; the Department of Energy (DOE), in Title III; and a number of independent agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in Title IV. Figure 1 compares the major components of the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill from FY2023 through the FY2024 enacted. Energy and water development appropriations were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, signed into law March 9, 2024 (P.L. 118-42).

Figure 1. Funding for Major Components of Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, FY2023 Through FY2024 (excluding supplementals)

Sources: Explanatory statement for Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024; S.Rept. 118-72; H.Rept. 118-126; H.R. 4394; FY2024 agency budget justifications; explanatory statement for Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Notes: Enacted amounts do not include supplemental appropriations or adjustments and rescissions. CUP = Central Utah Project Completion Account, Senate Comm. = reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee, House = passed by the House.

President Biden submitted his FY2024 budget request on March 9, 2023. The Administration request included $62.012 billion for energy and water development agencies, an increase of $2.809 billion (5%) above the FY2023 enacted amount, excluding emergency appropriations, adjustments, and offsets. DOE funding would have risen by $4.126 billion (9%), to $52.571 billion, and independent agencies by $65 million (13%), to $559 million. USACE would have been reduced by $897 million (-11%), to $7.413 billion, and Reclamation and CUP would have declined by $485 million (-25%), to $1.469 billion, excluding adjustments and offsets.¹

The House Appropriations Committee approved its FY2024 E&W bill on June 22, 2023 (H.R. 4394, H.Rept. 118-126), and the House passed the bill with amendments on October 26, 2023. Total funding in the House-passed bill was $59.988 billion, excluding emergency appropriations, adjustments, and offsets, but including a floor amendment that reduced the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) appropriations by $1 billion. That DOE total was $781 million (1%) above the FY2023 enacted level and $2.028 billion (-3%) below the Administration request. DOE would have received $48.021 billion, $425 million (-1%) below the FY2023 enacted amount and $4.551 billion (-9%) below the request. USACE would have received $9.573 billion, $1.260 billion (15%) above the FY2023 enacted amount and $2.160 billion (29%) above the request. Reclamation and CUP would have received $1.871 billion, a decrease of $83 million (-4%) from the FY2023 enacted level and an increase of $402 million (27%) over the request. Independent agencies would have received $523 million, an increase of $29 million (6%) over the FY2023 level and $36 million (-6%) below the request. The House-passed bill also included rescissions from DOE energy efficiency programs totaling $5.730 billion and budget scorekeeping adjustments of $2.877 billion.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version on July 20, 2023 (S. 2443, S.Rept. 118-72), with no subsequent floor action taking place. The committee bill totaled $61.547 billion, excluding emergency appropriations, adjustments, and offsets. That amount was $2.343 billion (4%) above the FY2023 enacted level and $466 million (-1%) below the request. DOE would have received $50.269 billion, an increase of $1.824 billion (4%) from the FY2023 enacted amount and a reduction of $2.302 billion (-4%) from the request. USACE would have received $8.837 billion, an increase of $527 million (6%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and $1.424 billion (19%) above the request. Reclamation and CUP would have received $1.941 billion, $13 million (-1%) below the FY2023 enacted amount and $472 million (32%) above the request. Independent agencies would have received $499 million, an increase of $4 million (1%) over the FY2023 enacted level and a decrease of $61 million (-11%) from the request.

President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42), including FY2024 energy and water development appropriations as Division D, on March 9, 2024. Excluding adjustments, the enacted measure totaled $61.375 billion for energy and water development agencies, an increase of $2.171 billion (4%) above the enacted FY2023 amount and $638 billion (-1%) below the request. DOE received $50.247 billion, an increase of $1.801 billion (4%) over FY2023 and $2.324 billion (-4%) below the request. USACE received $8.703 billion,² which was $393 million (5%) more than in FY2023 and $1.290 billion (17%) higher than the request. Reclamation and CUP received a slight reduction of $31 million (-2%) from FY2023, totaling $1.923 billion for FY2024. However, the enacted amount was $454 million (31%) above the request. Independent agencies received a total of $502 million, an increase of $8 million (2%) from the FY2023 amount and $57 million (-10%) below the request.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) and the budget reconciliation measure commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; P.L. 117-169) provided additional appropriations for energy and water development agencies above the enacted amounts in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2023 and FY2024 (as well as several other years). For instance, IIJA appropriated an additional $16.040 billion for FY2023 and $13.688 billion for FY2024. IRA appropriated $4.588 billion for Reclamation and $35.067 billion for DOE for FY2022, to remain available for as long as through FY2031.

Administration Request

DOE's major program areas include energy, science, defense, and environmental management. The Administration's largest proposed increase in the energy programs area was for EERE, which would have risen by $1.332 billion (28%) over the equivalent FY2023 enacted amount, to $4.792 billion. This included several large programs under the EERE appropriations account—the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, and low-income weatherization and state planning grants in the Office of State and Community Programs—for which the Administration proposed to have separate accounts in FY2024.

Other energy programs with large proposed percentage increases were the Office of Technology Transitions, which facilitates the commercialization of new energy technologies, proposed to increase by 156% in FY2024 to $57 million, and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which would have risen by 142% to $215 million. The Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs would have increased by 47% to $110 million, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) would have increased by 38% to $650 million.

Funding for DOE's Office of Science was set to increase by $700 million (9%), to $8.800 billion, under the Administration budget request, with the largest percentage increases proposed for Isotope R&D and Production (58%), to $173 million, and Fusion Energy Sciences (32%), to $1.010 billion. Funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is responsible for nuclear warheads, nuclear weapons nonproliferation, and naval reactor research and development (R&D), was proposed to increase by $1.682 billion (8%), to $23.845 billion. Environmental Management (waste management and cleanup) would have increased by $17 million (less than 1%), to $8.280 billion.

The water agencies in the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill were proposed for funding reductions under the FY2024 budget request. Discretionary E&W appropriations for USACE would have declined from their FY2023 enacted level by $897 million (-11%), to $7.413 billion. Reclamation (separately from CUP) would have been reduced by $482 million (-25%), to $1.449 billion.

Among the independent agencies funded by the bill, NRC would have received an increase in total appropriations from $927 million in FY2023 to $979 million in FY2024 (up $52 million, or 6%). NRC's budget is mostly offset by nuclear industry fees, which may vary from year to year; the Administration proposed an increase in the agency's net appropriation from $137 million in FY2023 to $156 million in FY2024 (up $19 million, or 14%). Funding for ARC would have increased from $200 million in FY2023 to $235 million in FY2024 (up $35 million, or 18%). The request included $5 million in initial funding for the newly authorized Great Lakes Authority. The funding for the other regional authorities in the bill was largely unchanged from the FY2023 enacted levels.

House

In the House-passed bill, DOE would have received FY2024 appropriations of $48.021 billion, offset by $5.730 billion in rescissions and $2.877 billion in budget scorekeeping adjustments. Excluding the rescissions and adjustments, the DOE appropriation would have been an increase of $781 million (1%) above the FY2023 enacted level and $2.028 billion (-3%) below the request.

EERE's FY2024 appropriations as reported by the House Appropriations Committee were reduced by $1 billion by a floor amendment, which did not specify how the reduction was to be allocated. As passed by the House, EERE would have received $1.994 billion for FY2024, including several programs that the Administration proposed to fund separately. The House-passed level would have constituted a decrease of $1.466 billion (-42%) from the FY2023 amount and $2.798 billion (-58%) below the equivalent request. The House-passed bill would have rescinded $5.700 billion in previous EERE energy efficiency appropriations in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169). DOE nuclear energy research would have received $1.783 billion, an increase of $160 million (10%) over the FY2023 level and $220 million (14%) above the request. The DOE Office of Science would have received $8.100 billion, the same as the FY2023 enacted amount and $700 million (-8%) below the request. NNSA would have received $23.959 billion, an increase of $1.797 billion (8%) over FY2023 and $114 million (less than 1%) above the request.

USACE would have received $9.573 billion, an increase of $1.263 billion (15%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and $2.160 billion (29%) above the request. Reclamation and CUP would have received $1.871 billion, a decrease of $83 million (-4%) from the FY2023 level and an increase of $402 million (27%) above the request. NRC would have received a net appropriation of $156 million, the amount requested. Other independent agencies would also have received mostly the requested amounts, with the main exception being ARC, which would have received $200 million, the same amount as in FY2023 and $35 million (-15%) below the request. The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) would have received $31.1 million, which is an increase of $1 million from the FY2023 enacted and FY2024 budget request amounts of $30.1 million.

Senate Appropriations Committee

DOE would have received appropriations of $50.269 million in the Senate committee bill, including rescissions, adjustments, and offsets, an increase of $1.824 billion (4%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and a decrease of $2.302 billion (-4%) from the request. EERE, including programs that the Administration proposed to fund under separate accounts, would have received $3.687 billion, an increase of $227 million (7%) over the FY2023 amount and a decrease of $1.105 billion (23%) from the equivalent request. Science would have received $8.430 billion, an increase of $330 million (4%) over the FY2023 enacted level and $370 million (-4%) below the request. DOE appropriations were to be offset by a $401 million rescission from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Petroleum Account and $95 million estimated from the sale of the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.

USACE would have received $8.837 billion, an increase of $527 million (6%) above the FY2023 enacted amount and $1.424 billion (19%) above the request. Reclamation and CUP would have received $1.941 billion, a decrease of $13 million (-1%) from the FY2023 amount and $472 million (32%) above the request. NRC would have received the same amount as the request, although more prior-year carryover was to be used to reduce the net appropriation. ARC was to receive $200 million, the same as in FY2023 and $35 million (-15%) below the request. Requested first-time funding of $5 million for the Great Lakes Authority would have been cut in half, while the other regional authorities and commissions were to receive all or slightly more than the amounts requested.

FY2024 Enacted Funding

Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, provided DOE with $50.247 billion, an increase of $1.801 billion (4%) over FY2023 and $2.324 billion (-4%) below the request. EERE, including programs that the Administration proposed to fund under separate accounts, received $3.460 billion, the same as the FY2023 amount and a decrease of $1.332 billion (28%) from the equivalent request. Science received $8.240 billion, an increase of $140 million (2%) over the FY2023 enacted level and $560 million (-6%) below the request. NNSA received $24.135 billion, an increase of $1.972 billion (9%) over FY2023 and $290 million (1%) above the request.

USACE received $8.703 billion, excluding rescissions and adjustments, which is $393 million (5%) more than in FY2023 and $1.290 billion (17%) higher than the request. Reclamation and CUP received $1.923 billion, a reduction of $31 million (-2%) from FY2023 and $454 million (31%) above the request.

NRC received $944 million, an increase of $17 million (2%) over the FY2023 level and a decrease of $35 million (-4%) from the request, although the net appropriation was almost the same as in FY2023.³ ARC received $200 million, the same as in FY2023 and $35 million (-15%) below the request. The Great Lakes Authority received first-time funding of $5 million, the requested amount, while the other regional authorities and commissions received all or slightly more than the amounts requested. The Northern Border Regional Commission and DRA received an amount that was $1 million more than their FY2024 requested amounts ($41 million and $31.1 million, respectively).

FY2023 Enacted Funding

FY2023 Energy and Water Development funding was included in Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, passed by Congress on December 22, 2022, and signed into law on December 29, 2022 (P.L. 117-328). Excluding emergency supplementals and rescissions, the Consolidated Appropriations Act provided a total of $57.133 billion, 3% above the FY2022 enacted level. Division M of the act included emergency additional FY2023 appropriations of $300 million for Nuclear Energy and $125 million for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Division N also provided supplemental appropriations of $1.480 billion for USACE, $1.000 billion for DOE's Electricity account to improve Puerto Rico's electricity grid, and $520 million for the Western Area Power Administration. Many energy and water development programs also received additional FY2023 appropriations from IIJA.

DOE received $48.445 billion in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, excluding emergency supplementals and rescissions. This was $3.590 billion (8%) above the FY2022 enacted level. USACE received $8.310 billion, which was slightly below (less than 1%) the FY2022 enacted level, and Reclamation received $1.931 billion, an increase of $30 million (2%) over the FY2022 enacted amount.

For more details, see

• CRS Report R47293, Energy and Water Development: FY2023 Appropriations, by Mark Holt and Anna E. Normand.
• CRS In Focus IF12090, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: FY2023 Appropriations, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T. Carter.
• CRS In Focus IF12127, Bureau of Reclamation: FY2023 Budget and Appropriations, by Charles V. Stern.

FY2024 Budgetary Limits

Congressional consideration of the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill is affected by certain procedural and statutory budget enforcement requirements. These consist primarily of procedural limits on discretionary spending (spending provided in annual appropriations acts) established in a budget resolution or through some other means, and allocations of this amount that apply to spending under the jurisdiction of each appropriations subcommittee.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA, P.L. 118-5), enacted in June 2023, establishes enforceable discretionary spending limits (caps) for FY2024 and FY2025. For FY2024, the limits are $886.349 billion for defense and $703.651 billion for nondefense. Spending designated as an emergency requirement would be exempt up to any amount, while funding for certain purposes—such as program integrity initiatives, disaster funding, and reemployment services—would be exempt up to specified amounts.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved FY2024 funding allocations to its subcommittees based on the FRA limits on June 22, 2023. The Energy and Water Development Subcommittee received an allocation of $33.422 billion for defense and $23.308 billion for nondefense, totaling $56.730 billion.⁴

The House Appropriations Committee approved its FY2024 subcommittee allocations on June 15, 2023, reducing the total nondefense ceiling below the FRA level by calling for more than $115 billion in rescissions of previous appropriations. The Committee's allocation report said that "the net impact of this effort is to limit the total amount of new discretionary spending to fiscal year 2022 levels." As a result, the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee allocation was $52.378 billion.⁵ For more information, see CRS Report R46468, A Brief Overview of the Congressional Budget Process, by James V. Saturno, and CRS Insight IN12168, Discretionary Spending Caps in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, by Grant A. Driessen and Megan S. Lynch.

Funding Issues and Initiatives

Several issues drew particular attention during congressional consideration of Energy and Water Development appropriations for FY2024. The issues described in this section—listed approximately in the order the affected agencies appear in the Energy and Water Development bill—were selected based on total funding involved, percentage of proposed increases or decreases, amount of congressional debate engendered, and potential impact on broader public policy considerations.

Congressionally Directed Funding

The 118^th Congress, largely continuing the policies of the 117^th Congress, allowed earmarks for site-specific projects and other activities in the FY2024 appropriations process. These are referred to as "community project funding" (CPF) in the House and "congressionally directed spending" (CDS) in the Senate. From the 112^th through the 116^th Congresses, moratorium policies largely prohibited earmarks for such projects. Funding for specific water projects constitutes the majority of the annual budget request for USACE and Reclamation.⁶ For FY2024, the House and Senate Appropriations committees invited Members of Congress to request CPF/CDS items, respectively. The House Appropriations Committee allowed CPF requests within the major USACE and Reclamation accounts, while the Senate Appropriations Committee allowed CDS requests for major USACE, Reclamation, and DOE energy-related accounts.⁷

The explanatory statement for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, included 273 energy and water development CPF/CDS items totaling $1.613 billion.⁸ This included 217 items for USACE, totaling about $1.489 billion, and 8 items for Reclamation, totaling about $41 million. For DOE, the explanatory statement included 48 CDS items totaling about $84 million under the Energy Projects appropriations account.⁹ Four of these earmarks were $100 million or more for USACE construction projects: Chickamauga Lock, TN ($237 million); the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System, IL, IA, MN, MO, and WI ($120 million); the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, AR ($103 million); and the Sabine-Neches Waterway, TX ($100 million). Figure 2 shows enacted CPF/CDS amounts per agency for FY2022 through FY2024 and the patterned area of the stacked column distinguishes the sum of the top three CPF/CDS items (all under USACE appropriations).

Figure 2. E&W CPF/CDS Total Funding from FY2022 Through FY2024 (nominal $, in millions)

Source: Community Project Funding (CPF)/Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) tables in explanatory statements accompanying enacted annual appropriations for FY2022 through FY2024. Notes: The patterned pattered area of the stacked column distinguishes the sum of the top three CPF/CDS items (all under USACE appropriations).

Recent Supplemental Funding

From FY2018 through FY2023, Congress provided supplemental appropriations for USACE and Reclamation for disaster response and mitigation (e.g., drought, flood); study, construction, maintenance, and repair of projects; new authorities that expand the agencies' activities; and COVID-19 precautions, among other purposes.¹⁰ Through FY2024, Congress provided supplemental appropriations to DOE for clean energy demonstration projects, science facilities and infrastructure, hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure, nuclear weapons nonproliferation, and renewable energy R&D, among other purposes. In addition, in some years, other agencies funded under Energy and Water Appropriations Acts received supplemental funding. Table 1 details in nominal dollars supplemental appropriations based on the fiscal year when funds are first available (in some cases, FY2024-FY2026). All of these funds are available until expended except for funds from the IRA, which are available through various years from FY2026 to FY2031, and Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation and Salaries and Expenses in P.L. 118-50, which are available through FY2025.¹¹

The relatively large amount of supplemental funding already available to Energy and Water Development agencies for FY2024 was a consideration in the congressional debate on FY2024 appropriations. This affected considerations about the amount of regular appropriations to be provided in the FY2024 E&W bill, and whether to fund activities primarily with previously enacted supplemental appropriations.

For example, DOE cited IIJA funding for two advanced reactor demonstration projects as the reason that no funding for those projects was included in the FY2024 request. The House committee report recommended $60 million in new funding for the two projects, the Senate committee report recommended none, and $60 million was included in the enacted measure. In contrast, DOE's Office of the Inspector General stated it needed more funding to perform oversight of recent supplemental funding.¹² The FY2024 enacted measure provided $86 million in regular appropriations—the same as in FY2023—but also transferred $115 million in unobligated appropriations from IIJA and IRA to the Inspector General (Section 307).¹³ Sections 311 and 312 of the enacted FY2024 E&W measure also transferred up to $3.670 billion in unobligated IIJA appropriations to DOE for domestic nuclear fuel availability programs and advanced reactors.¹⁴

Other general provisions in the FY2024 enacted measure directed that certain appropriations for USACE—specific prior supplemental and emergency appropriations and appropriations from P.L. 118-42 and future acts—may provide additional funding for certain studies and projects that have received funding from the following accounts:

• the USACE Construction account in P.L. 113-2;
• the USACE Investigations and Construction accounts in P.L. 115-123; and
• the USACE Investigations account in P.L. 117-58.

Further, Congress directed that "any additional funds for such studies and projects shall be subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to the headings of those acts" as listed above. The enacted measure also directed use of some unobligated and unallocated prior Construction appropriations, including $1.435 billion from the IIJA, to fund projects listed in the explanatory statement (see the following section).

For more details on selected supplemental funding, see

• CRS In Focus IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand.
• CRS Insight IN11723, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T. Carter.
• CRS Report R47032, Bureau of Reclamation Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), by Charles V. Stern and Anna E. Normand.
• CRS In Focus IF12437, Bureau of Reclamation Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169), by Charles V. Stern and Anna E. Normand.
• CRS Report R47034, Energy and Minerals Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), coordinated by Brent D. Yacobucci.
• CRS Report R47262, Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA): Provisions Related to Climate Change, coordinated by Jane A. Leggett and Jonathan L. Ramseur.

Water Resources Agency Funding

The Administration's FY2024 budget requests for USACE and Reclamation were lower than the enacted FY2023 regular appropriations ($897 million less or 11% lower for USACE and $482 million less or 25% lower for Reclamation). The Administration noted in its request that the IIJA provided advance appropriations for these agencies, including funding that was first made available in FY2024 (see Table 1).¹⁵ The IRA also provided $4.588 billion in FY2022 for certain Reclamation activities; this funding remains available through FY2026 or FY2031.¹⁶

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

For USACE civil works, the House-passed bill would have provided $9.573 billion and the Senate committee bill would have provided $8.837 billion,¹⁷ compared with the $7.413 billion budget request from the Administration. The enacted bill provided USACE $8.703 billion, excluding $22 million in rescissions across four major accounts, for a total of $8.681 billion. In addition, the act directed prior unobligated appropriations to fund FY2024 Construction account activities. The appropriations are

• $1.435 billion from unobligated and unallocated prior-year IIJA Construction appropriations, and
• $35 million from unobligated and unallocated prior-year Continuing Authorities Program (CAP) appropriations.

The enacted bill directed that USACE use the aforementioned IIJA appropriations to fund projects listed in the explanatory statement and that the projects receiving these appropriations "shall be subject to the terms and conditions" of IIJA Construction funding.¹⁸ In addition, the House-passed bill included a number of policy provisions related to USACE that were not included in the enacted measure.¹⁹ The Senate committee bill would have created a new USACE account—Planning, Engineering, and Design, which was not included in the enacted measure.²⁰

Newly funded USACE studies and projects are commonly referred to as new starts. The Administration requested funding in FY2024 for five new studies and one new construction start—Cape Cod Canal Bridges, MA.²¹ The FY2024 enacted measure funded these Administration-requested new starts and new studies and projects from CPF/CDS requests. The explanatory statement also directed USACE to select three additional new study starts and one new construction start.²² USACE is to allocate additional funding provided by the act to studies and projects designated as the new starts and to other eligible studies and projects in a work plan 60 days after enactment.²³ The additional funding is in addition to the funding provided to studies, projects, and activities as listed in the explanatory statement.

Bureau of Reclamation

Consistent with prior years, President Biden's FY2024 request for Reclamation was less than the previous year's enacted amount. Reclamation's largest account, the Water and Related Resources Account, would have received $1.301 billion in the Administration request, or $486 million (27%) less than the FY2023 enacted amount. Reclamation's WaterSMART program (which funds several different water conservation activities) would have been reduced by 68% in the request, accounting for $129 million of the proposed reduction.

Compared with the Administration's total budget request of $1.449 billion, the House-passed bill would have provided $1.848 billion and the Senate committee bill would have provided $1.922 billion for Reclamation. Within these amounts, the House and Senate committee bills would have approved additional funding amounts of $361 million and $335 million, respectively, to be allocated by Reclamation after enactment. The House-passed bill language would also would have released previously appropriated funding for a project recommended during the Trump Administration (the Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project) that was not agreed to by Congress or recommended by the Biden Administration; the Senate committee bill would have barred any funding provided by the bill to be used for the project. The House-passed bill also contained a separate title (Title V) that included a number of operational directives for Reclamation's Central Valley Project. For the WaterSMART program, both committee reports recommended increases over the Administration budget request, with the House report recommending $88 million and the Senate report recommending $141 million.

The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $1.923 billion for Reclamation, including $315 million in Additional Funding and $41 million for CPF/CDS projects. The enacted measure did not approve the proposed House-passed bill language for the Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project or the Central Valley Project provisions in Title V of H.R. 4394. The Senate committee bill prohibition on using FY2024 funds for the Shasta project also was not enacted. For WaterSMART, the FY2024 enacted measure provided $140 million, a decrease of $46 million from the FY2023 enacted amount.

For more information, see the following:

• CRS In Focus IF12370, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: FY2024 Appropriations, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T. Carter.
• CRS In Focus IF12369, Bureau of Reclamation: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations, by Charles V. Stern.
• CRS Report R44148, Indian Water Rights Settlements, by Charles V. Stern.

Proposed Increases for EERE and New Accounts

The Administration's FY2024 request would have increased EERE funding by $1.332 billion (39%) over the FY2023 enacted amount, to $4.792 billion. This included separate appropriations accounts that the request would have established for several large programs under the EERE appropriations account—FEMP, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, and the Office of State and Community Programs. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $3.460 billion for EERE, the same as in FY2023. Also, as it did in FY2023, Congress did not approve the separate appropriations accounts proposed by the Administration.

EERE programs with the largest requested percentage increases were Wind Energy Technologies (up $253 million, or 192%), Geothermal Technologies (up $98 million, or 83%), Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization (up $128 million, or 48%),²⁴ Renewable Energy Grid Integration (up $14 million, or 31%), and Vehicle Technologies (up $72 million, or 16%).

These increases did not include the efficiency programs that the Administration proposed moving to separate DOE appropriations accounts. For example, FEMP would have received $82 million in FY2024 under the request, and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, which handles state energy planning grants and low-income home weatherization assistance, would have received $705 million. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided those programs with $43 million and $471 million, respectively.

The House and the Senate Appropriations Committee did not approve the separate accounts proposed by the Administration and recommended substantially lower funding levels than requested for most EERE programs.

As discussed in the following section, the House adopted a floor amendment that reduced total EERE funding by $1 billion from the level reported by the House Appropriations Committee without specifying how the reduction would be allocated. The committee report included $674 million for renewable energy, a reduction of $118 million (-15%) from the FY2023 enacted amount and $595 million (-47%) below the request. The committee report included $690 million for energy efficiency, a reduction of $92 million from FY2023 (-12%) and $294 million (-30%) below the request. Grants for energy efficiency and state planning (state and community energy programs) received $344 million in the committee report, a reduction of $127 million (-27%) from FY2023 and $361 million (-51%) below the request.

The Senate committee bill included $912 million for renewable energy, an increase of $120 million (15%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and a decrease of $357 million (-28%) from the request. The bill would have provided $827 million for energy efficiency, an increase of $45 million (6%) over FY2023 and a decrease of $157 million (-16%) from the request. State and community energy program grants totaled $493 million in the Senate committee bill, an increase of $22 million (5%) over FY2023 and a decrease of $212 million (-30%) from the request.

The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $795 million for renewable energy, an increase of $3 million (less than 1%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and $474 million (-37%) below the request. The enacted measure included $784 million for energy efficiency, an increase of $2 million from FY2023 and a decrease of $200 million (-20%) below the request. State and community energy programs received $471 million, the same as in FY2023 and $234 million (-33%) below the request.

IIJA appropriated $16.264 billion in FY2022 through FY2026 in additional emergency spending for programs in the EERE account, of which $1.940 billion was for FY2024.²⁵ EERE programs received $12.150 billion in additional funding in IRA, available from FY2022 through FY2026, FY2027, FY2029, or FY2031, depending upon the provision.

For more details, see CRS In Focus IF12376, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy FY2024 Appropriations, by Martin C. Offutt and Corrie E. Clark.

Proposed Energy Efficiency Rescissions and Reductions

The House-passed bill (Section 312) would have rescinded $5.7 billion in energy efficiency appropriations provided by IRA. In addition, an amendment adopted on the floor reduced the bill's total for EERE by $1 billion, to $1.994 billion (-33%). The amendment did not indicate how the reduction was to be allocated among EERE programs. It also did not transfer the budget authority elsewhere in the E&W bill, resulting in a $1 billion reduction in the bill's total appropriation level. The EERE rescissions were not included in the enacted E&W measure.

The House-passed bill's rescissions included $1 billion in IRA appropriations for two programs that support work by state energy offices on energy efficient building codes. The IRA appropriated $330 million for grants to assist states and any local governments in adopting updates to building codes from national and international organizations and $670 million to assist state and local entities in adopting so-called "zero energy" code provisions that meet more stringent efficiency requirements and require greater renewable energy production.

Also included in the $5.7 billion rescission was $4.5 billion for the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program created in the IRA to provide rebates for replacing common home appliances with those using electricity. The rescissions also include $200 million in funding for state energy offices to train and educate contractors to work in support of this program and in support of another IRA program of rebates, Home Energy Performance-Based, Whole House Rebates, also known as a HOMES (Home Owner Managing Energy Savings).

The House Appropriations Committee report contended that the bill "addresses some of the causes of inflation by rescinding more than $5.5 billion in excess spending from prior years." The report's Minority Views criticized the proposed rescissions of "over $5 billion for critical energy programs from the Inflation Reduction Act that would have helped American families save money on their monthly energy bills."²⁶

Controversy over Energy Efficiency Standards

DOE revises most of the energy efficiency standards in its Appliance and Commercial Equipment Standards Program on a six-year cycle. Compliance with the revised standards, typically three years after publication, can lead to additional costs to industry as manufacturing costs increase, including up-front capital costs. The revisions generally are estimated to save consumers and firms money due to lower energy costs over the life of the appliance or equipment. Several amendments adopted to the House-passed H.R. 4394 would have prohibited or preserved DOE's ability to revise and/or implement and enforce these standards. An additional amendment would have impacted the energy conservation standards for manufactured housing. These are described in Table 2.

Section 317 of the House-passed bill would have blocked DOE funds from being used to implement the February 1, 2023, proposed rule on the efficiency of natural gas cooking products (e.g., gas stoves) (88 Federal Register 6818) "or any substantially similar rule, including any rule that would directly or indirectly limit consumer access to gas kitchen ranges or ovens." Section 307 of the House-passed bill would have blocked funds from being used for increasing efficiency standards on distribution transformers.

None of these provisions were included in the enacted FY2024 measure.

For more information, see CRS Insight IN12115, DOE's Regulations on Gas Stoves, by Martin C. Offutt, and CRS Insight IN12179, DOE's Proposed Regulation on Electricity Distribution Transformers, by Martin C. Offutt.

Increases for Advanced Nuclear Reactors and Fuel

The enacted FY2024 E&W measure (Section 311) provided $950 million for DOE to support up to two small modular reactor demonstrations, through the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, and nuclear reactor safety training. Section 312 provided up to $2.720 billion for DOE to support domestic uranium mining, conversion, and enrichment, and to support the acquisition of high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced reactors. The funds come from the unobligated balance of $6 billion appropriated by IIJA for the DOE Civil Nuclear Credit program to prevent the closure of existing nuclear power plants. DOE has conditionally approved $1.1 billion of Civil Nuclear Credits for one plant, Diablo Canyon in California.²⁷

Transfers under Section 312 were contingent on the imposition of sanctions on enriched uranium imports from Russia. The House passed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act on December 11, 2023 (H.R. 1042, H.Rept. 118-296), the Senate passed it April 30, 2024, and it was signed into law May 13, 2024 (P.L. 118-62). The law prohibits Russian imports of enriched uranium beginning 90 days after enactment, although waivers for specified amounts are allowed through the end of 2027.

The FY2024 enacted appropriations measure included $100 million in the Nuclear Energy account for advanced nuclear fuel availability. The House-passed E&W bill (Section 316) included nuclear fuel supply language similar to that in the enacted measure. It also included $156 million in FY2024 for advanced nuclear fuel programs authorized by the Energy Act of 2020 (Division Z of P.L. 116-260).

Many proposed designs for advanced nuclear reactors would require HALEU fuel, which has higher enrichment of the fissile isotope uranium 235 than used by existing U.S. nuclear plants. HALEU is not available in commercial quantities, and the nuclear industry contends that government action is needed to prevent a "choke point" in advanced reactor development.²⁸ The latest appropriations in the FY2024 E&W act to support the establishment of a HALEU supply chain are in addition to $700 million previously appropriated for that purpose by IRA.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Sales, Closing of Gasoline Reserve, and Proposed Rescissions

The FY2024 E&W enacted measure required DOE to close the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) and sell its entire inventory, resulting in an estimated revenue offset of $95 million (Section 308). The FY2024 DOE budget request included $16 million to fully fund the operation of NGSR, but both the House-passed and Senate committee bills called for closure. Established in 2014, the NGSR currently holds 1 million barrels of gasoline products in leased commercial storage facilities in Maine and New Jersey to address regional supply disruptions, such as from major storms. The enacted measure prohibited DOE from establishing any new regional petroleum product reserves unless specific appropriations are provided in the future, a prohibition also included in the Senate Appropriations Committee report and House-passed bill.

The enacted measure (Section 309) prohibited the use of funds in the bill for SPR sales to Chinese entities and the export of SPR petroleum products to China. The House had passed a bill with similar provisions on January 12, 2023 (H.R. 22).

The explanatory statement accompanying the enacted measure directed DOE to continue SPR refill efforts following emergency sales during FY2022 and FY2023. The statement also directed DOE to brief the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on plans to refill the SPR no later than 90 days after enactment and quarterly thereafter.

The Senate committee bill would have rescinded $401 million from the SPR Petroleum Account, but that rescission was not enacted. Following rescissions of more than $12 billion in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and SPR oil purchases through March 2024, the Petroleum Account held approximately $2 billion; such sales proceeds are used to purchase oil to refill the SPR. The Senate Appropriations Committee report directed DOE to immediately provide a report about the SPR modernization program.

The FY2024 enacted E&W measure provided full funding for the operation of the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, $7 million, as requested by the Administration and included in the House-passed and Senate committee bills.

Proposed Increase for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

The Administration requested $215 million in FY2024 for the DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). This would have been a 142% increase from OCED's FY2023 regular annual appropriation, but the program's regular appropriations are overshadowed by $21.456 billion appropriated for OCED through FY2026 by IIJA (see Table 3). In addition, IRA appropriated $5.812 billion for an OCED program on Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment for FY2022-FY2026. The House-passed bill would have provided $35 million for OCED program direction but none for new demonstrations, which were to instead use previously appropriated funds, according to the committee report. The Senate committee bill included $89 million for OCED, the same as the FY2023 enacted amount. The FY2024 enacted E&W measure provided $50 million.

OCED funds clean energy and industrial decarbonization demonstration projects for potential commercialization. OCED took over DOE support for two advanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects previously overseen by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), but no funding was requested for those projects in FY2024, because "funding is not required at this time," according to the DOE budget justification. The justification added that the advanced reactor demonstration program has "a gap of approximately $400 million."²⁹ The House-passed bill (Section 316) would have transferred $1.197 billion from the DOE Civil Nuclear Credit program for FY2024 through FY2026 to support NE's NuScale small modular reactor demonstration planned at Idaho National Laboratory. However, that project was terminated by its sponsors on November 8, 2023, after sufficient private-sector funding could not be secured.³⁰ As noted above, the enacted FY2024 E&W measure transferred $800 million from the Civil Nuclear Credit program to OCED for up to two cost-shared advanced reactor projects with a nonfederal cost share of at least 50%. (For more details, see CRS In Focus IF12636, Nuclear Energy in a Climate Change Context: Current Appropriations for Nuclear Energy Development, by Jonathan D. Haskett and Mark Holt.)

Reduction in Crosscutting Hydrogen Funding

The DOE crosscutting hydrogen activity includes several offices with responsibility for supporting hydrogen work based on different primary sources of energy (e.g., renewable, fossil, nuclear) and types of end-use (e.g., vehicles, portable power, thermal comfort). DOE's FY2024 request for crosscutting hydrogen appropriations totaled $382 million, a decrease of $49 million (-11%) below the FY2023 enacted level of $431 million.³¹ Most of the hydrogen funding comes from EERE and Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), with smaller amounts from the Office of Nuclear Energy and the Office of Science. The FY2024 enacted E&W measure provided $396 million for DOE hydrogen programs, an increase of $14 million (4%) above the request and $35 million (-8%) below the FY2023 enacted level.

In addition to funding in the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, IIJA appropriated $9.500 billion for three hydrogen- and fuel cell-related DOE programs from FY2022 to FY2026 ($1.900 billion in FY2024). The largest of these, the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, was appropriated $8.000 billion to support demonstration projects involving networks of clean hydrogen producers and consumers and the connecting infrastructure.

DOE launched a "Hydrogen Shot" initiative in June 2021—one of its "Energy Earthshots" dedicated to the scale-up of emerging low-carbon energy technologies—with a goal of making hydrogen, produced through electrolysis, commercially available at a cost of $1 for 1 kilogram in 1 decade, not including delivery and dispensing.

For more information, see CRS In Focus IF12163, Department of Energy Funding for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Programs FY2022, by Martin C. Offutt, and CRS In Focus IF12514, DOE Appropriations for Its Hydrogen Program: FY2024, by Martin C. Offutt.

Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program Authority and Funding

The House-passed bill would have rescinded $15 billion of authority for DOE loan guarantees under Title 17 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58) that had been provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Under budget scoring rules, that reduction in loan guarantee authority would result in a $150 million appropriations offset in the bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee report included the same offset. The House also adopted a floor amendment to the Title 17 loan guarantee account "to provide loan guarantees in support of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline."³² The rescission and Alaska Pipeline provision were not included in the FY2024 E&W enacted measure, which provided $70 million for the Title 17 program's administrative costs, entirely offset by fees for a net-zero appropriation.

The Senate committee report required DOE to provide recommendations to the committee for supporting loan guarantees for Alaska natural gas projects, including pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, under 15 U.S.C. §720n(f). The report also directed DOE to be fuel and technology neutral, including for additional emission controls to existing coal and natural gas power plants, when considering projects under the Section 1706 Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program.

Increase for Weapons Activities, Decrease for Naval Reactors

The FY2024 budget request for DOE Weapons Activities was $18.833 billion—$1.717 billion (10%) higher than the FY2023 enacted level. However, the FY2024 funding request of $1.964 billion for Naval Reactors was $117 million (-6%) below the FY2023 amount. Both programs are carried out by NNSA, a semiautonomous agency within DOE. The House-passed bill would have increased Weapons Activities by $284 million over the requested amount and included a further reduction of $18 million in Naval Reactors from the request. The Senate committee bill would have provided the requested amounts for both accounts. The enacted amount for Weapons Activities was $19.108 billion, an increase of $275 million (1%) over the request, and the enacted amount for Naval Reactors was $1.946 billion, $18 million (-1%) below the request.

Under Weapons Activities, concern was raised during congressional hearings on the FY2024 budget request about delays in the W80-4 warhead modernization for the planned Long Range Standoff cruise missile. After problems with several components, the first production unit of the warhead is now expected to be delivered in FY2027 after a two-year delay, according to NNSA. The FY2024 request for the program was $1.010 billion, a decrease of $113 million from the FY2023 amount, which NNSA says is "due to completion of some development activities."³³ The full requested amount was approved in the FY2024 enacted measure.

The enacted measure added $70 million for the W80-4 warhead to be used with the proposed nuclear sea-launched cruise missile, not included in the FY2024 budget request. This was the amount in the House-passed bill, while the Senate committee bill included $35 million.

The full requested amount for several other warhead modernization programs in Weapons Activities was approved by the enacted measure, including

• $450 million for the B61-12 Life Extension Program (LEP) for FY2024, a decrease of $222 million (-33%) from the FY2023 enacted amount. The B61-12 LEP is to combine four existing variants of the B61 gravity bomb and be completed in FY2026.
• $179 million for the W88 Alteration in FY2024, an increase of $17 million (10%) from the FY2023 amount. The program is to upgrade the arming-fuzing-firing system on the warhead and refresh the warhead's conventional high explosives. This warhead is carried on a portion of the D-5 (Trident) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
• $1.069 billion for the W87-1 warhead modification program for FY2024, an increase of $389 million (57%) from FY2023. The Air Force plans to deploy the W87-1 on the new U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). This would provide the Air Force with an alternative warhead if the W87-1 FPU is delayed. According to NNSA, the additional funding is needed for increased component testing and environmental flight tests.
• $390 million for the W93 warhead, which is a new design intended for deployment on ballistic missile submarines by 2040.³⁴ The increase of $149 million (62%) from the FY2023 enacted amount represents the program's planned acceleration to include prototype construction and testing of non-nuclear hardware.

Congressional concern has also been raised about NNSA's schedule for developing production capacity for plutonium pits, a central component of nuclear warheads. NNSA plans to develop pit production capacity at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.³⁵ Pit production is included under Plutonium Modernization, for which NNSA requested $2.969 billion for FY2024, a decrease of $127 million (-4%) from the FY2023 enacted level. The enacted measure provided $2.911 billion, a $142 million (5%) increase over the FY2024 budget request. This amount, intended as an increase for the Savannah River Site, was in the Senate committee bill. The House-passed bill included $3.005 billion for Plutonium Modernization.

Appropriations for NNSA nuclear weapons activities and other defense programs typically closely track the levels authorized in annual National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs). The FY2024 NDAA was signed by the President on December 22, 2023, authorizing $19.122 billion for weapons activities (P.L. 118-31, H.R. 2670, H.Rept. 118-301).

For more information, see CRS Report R47657, Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Activities: In Brief, by Anya L. Fink and Alexandra G. Neenan.

Startup of Surplus Plutonium Disposition

The FY2024 budget request provided for plutonium disposition related activities in the Material Management and Minimization (Material Disposition subprogram) and the Nonproliferation Construction accounts. The budget request said the Surplus Plutonium Disposition (SPD) project "will add glovebox capacity at the Savannah River Site to accelerate plutonium dilution and aid in the removal of plutonium from the state of South Carolina." In the coming years, NNSA plans to expand capability to disassemble and convert plutonium cores or "pits" for disposal. The FY2024 request said NNSA is completing the final design review to request approval and start full construction on the SPD project in FY2024, which represents a delay and cost increase. The request said NNSA is "increasing the total project cost by $155 million resulting in a corresponding increase to the high-end of the cost range which is $775 million" and extending the completion date to the fourth quarter of FY2030. The budget request said these changes are necessary due to design, safety, and construction challenges "of integrating the new mission into the existing facility and operations." It also cited a lack of skilled professional and craft labor, which is also an issue for other NNSA construction projects. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure, along with both the House and Senate committee reports, provided the full Administration request of $77 million for the SPD project.

Cleanup of Former Nuclear Sites: Adequacy of Proposed Funding

DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for environmental cleanup and waste management at the department's nuclear facilities. The $8.280 billion request for EM activities for FY2024 was $17 million (less than 1%) above the FY2023 enacted level of $8.263 billion, including adjustments and offsets. The House-passed bill included a slight increase (less than 1%) over the requested amount, while the Senate committee bill would have increased total EM funding from the request by $233 million (3%). The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $8.482 billion for EM, and increase of $219 million (3%) over the FY2023 enacted level.

The primary appropriations component of the EM program is the Defense Environmental Cleanup account, which finances the cleanup of former nuclear weapons production sites. For FY2024, the Administration requested $7.074 billion, 1% above the FY2023 enacted amount. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $7.285 billion, an increase of $260 million (4%) over the FY2023 enacted level. For the Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup account, which funds the cleanup of federal nuclear energy research sites, the request was $349 million, 3% below the FY2023 enacted level. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $342 million for this account, a decrease of $17 million (-5%) from the FY2023 enacted level. The third component of the EM budget is the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund (UED&D), for which the FY2024 request was $857 million, a decrease of 2% from the FY2023 enacted amount. This fund was established by Title XI of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486) to pay for the cleanup of three federal facilities that enriched uranium for national defense and civilian purposes, located near Paducah, KY; Piketon, OH (Portsmouth plant); and Oak Ridge, TN. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $855 million for the UED&D Fund, a decrease of $24 million (-3%) from the FY2023 enacted level.

The largest requested EM increase in FY2024 was for the Office of River Protection at the Hanford (WA) Site, which would have increased by $245 million (14%) from the FY2023 enacted level. According to the DOE request, the increase reflected startup of direct-feed low-activity waste treatment and design and construction of other waste treatment facilities at the site. The enacted FY2024 E&W measure provided $1.890 billion for the Office of River Protection, an increase of $160 million (9%) over the FY2023 enacted amount and $85 million (-4%) below the request.

The adequacy of funding for the Office of Environmental Management to attain cleanup milestones across the entire site inventory has been a recurring issue. Cleanup milestones are enforceable measures incorporated into compliance agreements negotiated among DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the states. These milestones establish time frames for the completion of specific actions to satisfy applicable requirements at individual sites.

Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Initial Funding for Great Lakes Authority, Denali Commission Cost-Sharing, and Authorizations of Appropriations

The enacted FY2024 appropriations measure includes $5 million in initial funding for the Great Lakes Authority (GLA), a new federal regional authority authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division O, Title IV, §401). The GLA service region is defined as areas in the watershed of the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes System in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.³⁶ The authorizing legislation requires that before the GLA may convene, the President must nominate and the Senate must confirm a federal co-chairperson. As of April 2024, President Biden had not nominated a federal co-chairperson for the GLA.

The FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act changed the cost-share provisions for Denali Commission-funded construction projects in distressed communities, and extended those provisions to projects for federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. The provisions increased the nonfederal cost-share maximum from 80% to 90% for certain projects. For the Northern Border Regional Commission, P.L. 118-42 included a provision waiving the 10% limit on FY2024 funding that may be used for administrative expenses.

The authorization of appropriations expired after FY2023 for five of the independent agencies that receive appropriations in the E&W bills, and the authorization of appropriations expired after FY2021 for one of the independent agencies.³⁷

For more information, see CRS Insight IN12089, Federal Regional Commissions: Great Lakes Authority Established and Other Updates, by Julie M. Lawhorn, and CRS Report R45997, Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Structural Features and Function, by Julie M. Lawhorn.

Bill Status and Recent Funding History

Table 4 indicates the steps taken during consideration of FY2024 Energy and Water Development appropriations. (For more details, see the CRS Appropriations Status Table at http://www.crs.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index.)

Table 5 includes budget totals for regular (excluding supplementals) energy and water development appropriations enacted for FY2018 through actions in FY2024.

Description of Major Energy and Water Programs

The annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes four titles: Title I—Corps of Engineers—Civil; Title II—Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project); Title III—Department of Energy; and Title IV—Independent Agencies, as shown in Table 6. Major programs in the bill are described in this section in the approximate order they appear in the bill. Previous appropriations and the amounts recommended and approved during the major stages of the FY2024 appropriations process are shown in the accompanying tables, and additional details about many of these programs are provided in separate CRS reports as indicated. For a discussion of current funding issues related to these programs, see "Funding Issues and Initiatives," above. Congressional clients may obtain more detailed information by contacting CRS analysts listed in CRS Report R42638, Appropriations: CRS Experts, by James M. Specht and Justin Murray.

Agency Budget Justifications

FY2024 budget justifications for the largest agencies funded by the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill can be found through the links below. The justifications provide detailed descriptions and funding breakouts for programs, projects, and activities under the agencies' jurisdiction.

• Title I, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Civil Works, https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll6/id/2317 (see Table 7)
• Title II (see Table 8)
• Bureau of Reclamation, https://www.usbr.gov/budget
• Central Utah Project, https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/fy2024-cupca-greenbook.pdf-508.pdf
• Title III, Department of Energy, https://www.energy.gov/cfo/articles/fy-2024-budget-justification (see Table 9)
• Title IV, Independent Agencies (see Table 14)
• Appalachian Regional Commission, https://www.arc.gov/budget-performance-and-policy
• Delta Regional Authority, https://dra.gov/accountability/congressional-budget-justification/
• Denali Commission, https://www.denali.gov/finance/congressional-budget-justifications/
• Northern Border Regional Commission, https://www.nbrc.gov/content/CJ
• Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, https://scrc.gov/cj/
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/
• Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, https://www.dnfsb.gov/about/congressional-budget-requests
• Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, http://www.nwtrb.gov/about-us/plans

Army Corps of Engineers

USACE is an agency in the Department of Defense with both military and civilian responsibilities. Under its civil works program, which is funded by the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, USACE plans, builds, operates, and in some cases maintains water resource facilities for coastal and inland navigation, riverine and coastal flood risk reduction, and aquatic ecosystem restoration.³⁸

In recent decades, Congress has generally authorized USACE studies, construction projects, and other activities in omnibus water authorization bills, typically titled as Water Resources Development Acts (WRDA), prior to funding them through appropriations legislation. Recent Congresses enacted omnibus water resources authorization acts in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. (The latest WRDA was Title LXXXI of Division H of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, P.L. 117-263.) These acts consisted largely of authorizations for new USACE studies and projects, and they altered numerous USACE policies and procedures.³⁹

Unlike for highways and in municipal water infrastructure programs, federal funds for USACE are not distributed to states or projects based on formulas or delivered via competitive grants. Instead, USACE generally is directly involved in planning, designing, and managing the construction of projects that are cost-shared with nonfederal project sponsors.

Policies in the 112^th through the 116^th Congresses limited congressionally directed funding of site-specific projects (i.e., earmarks). Prior to the 112^th Congress, Congress would direct funds to specific projects not in the budget request or increase funds for certain projects. For FY2011-FY2021, Congress appropriated additional funding for categories of USACE work without identifying specific projects. During that period, after congressional enactment of the appropriations legislation and accompanying report language on priorities and other guidance for use of the additional funding, the Administration developed a work plan that reported on (1) the studies and construction projects selected to receive funding for the first time (new starts) and (2) the specific studies and projects receiving additional funds. For FY2022 through FY2024, Congress approved earmarks in specified categories, in addition to providing additional funding for specific categories for USACE to allocate in work plans.⁴⁰ For more information, see CRS Report R46320, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T. Carter.

Table 7 shows USACE appropriations accounts from FY2020 through FY2024.

Additional Funding

In addition to the regular appropriations for FY2022 and FY2023, USACE received the following supplemental appropriations:

• $5.711 billion in Division B of P.L. 117-43;
• $14.969 billion for FY2022, $1.080 billion for FY2023, and $1.050 billion for FY2024 in the IIJA (P.L. 117-58);
• $1.480 billion in Division N of P.L. 117-328;⁴¹ and
• $20 million in the FY2023 continuing resolution (P.L. 117-180).

For more information on USACE supplemental funding, see CRS In Focus IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T. Carter.

Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project

Most of the large dams and water diversion structures in the West were built by, or with the assistance of, the Bureau of Reclamation. While USACE built hundreds of flood control and navigation projects, Reclamation's original mission was to develop water supplies, primarily for irrigation to reclaim arid lands in the West for farming and ranching. Reclamation has evolved into an agency that assists in meeting the water demands in the West while working to protect the environment and the public's investment in Reclamation infrastructure. The agency's municipal and industrial water deliveries have more than doubled since 1970.

Today, Reclamation manages hundreds of dams and diversion projects, including more than 300 storage reservoirs, in 17 western states. These projects provide water to approximately 10 million acres of farmland and 31 million people. Reclamation is the largest wholesale supplier of water in the 17 western states and the second-largest hydroelectric power producer in the nation. Reclamation facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and other benefits. Reclamation facility operations are often controversial, particularly for their effect on fish and wildlife species and because of conflicts among competing water users during drought conditions.

As with USACE, the Reclamation budget is made up largely of individual project funding lines, rather than general programs that would not be covered by congressional earmark requirements. Therefore, as with USACE, these Reclamation projects have often been subject to earmark disclosure rules. The moratorium on earmarks through FY2021 restricted congressional steering of money directly toward specific Reclamation projects. For FY2022 through FY2024, the rules again allowed congressionally directed funding for specific Reclamation projects.

Reclamation's single largest account, Water and Related Resources, encompasses the agency's traditional programs and projects, including construction, operations and maintenance, dam safety, and ecosystem restoration, among others.⁴² Reclamation also typically requests funds in a number of smaller accounts, and has proposed additional accounts in recent years.

Implementation and oversight of CUP, also funded by Title II, is conducted by a separate office within the Department of the Interior.⁴³

For more information, see CRS In Focus IF12369, Bureau of Reclamation: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations, by Charles V. Stern, and CRS In Focus IF12127, Bureau of Reclamation: FY2023 Budget and Appropriations, by Charles V. Stern. Table 8 shows Reclamation and CUP appropriations accounts from FY2020 through FY2024.

Additional Funding

For each of FY2022 through FY2026, IIJA provided $1.660 billion for Reclamation's Water and Related Resources account. (For more information, see CRS Report R47032, Bureau of Reclamation Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), by Charles V. Stern and Anna E. Normand.) IRA also appropriated additional funds in FY2022 for Reclamation: $4.000 billion for drought mitigation, available through FY2026; $550 million for disadvantaged communities, available through FY2031; $25 million for projects to cover water conveyance facilities with solar panels, available through FY2031; and $13 million for drought relief actions to mitigate drought impacts for tribes affected by the operation of a Reclamation water project, available through FY2031.

Department of Energy

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill has funded all DOE programs since FY2005. Major DOE activities are authorized under multiple energy statutes and include the following:

• R&D on renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear power, fossil energy, and electricity;
• nuclear weapons and nonproliferation;
• general science;
• environmental cleanup;
• energy statistics, projections, and analysis;
• loan programs;
• the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and
• power marketing administrations.

Table 9 provides the recent funding history for DOE programs, most of which are briefly described further below.

As well as the regular annual appropriations shown in Table 9, DOE received additional appropriations from IIJA; the additional amounts for FY2023 and FY2024 are shown in Table 10. Additional appropriations are also available to DOE from IRA, beginning in FY2022 as shown in Table 11. Additional amounts for FY2023 were appropriated by Division M and N of P.L. 117-328, as shown in Table 12.

DOE Crosscutting Initiatives

Crosscutting Initiatives consist of activities that draw funding and resources from multiple DOE program offices and their corresponding appropriations accounts. Five Crosscutting Initiatives are identified in the FY2024 explanatory statement, as shown in Table 13.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy conducts R&D on transportation energy technology, energy efficiency in buildings and manufacturing processes, and the production of solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable energy.

The Sustainable Transportation program area includes electric vehicles, vehicle efficiency, hydrogen and fuel cells, and alternative fuels. DOE's electric vehicle program includes several goals for 2030, including "decreasing vehicle battery cell cost to achieve cost parity with internal combustion engines" and "eliminating dependence on critical materials such as cobalt, nickel, and graphite." The program also supports demonstrations of electrified medium and heavy trucks, according to the FY2023 DOE budget justification.⁴⁴

Renewable power programs focus on electricity generation from solar, wind, water, and geothermal sources. They are also developing concentrated solar technologies to produce high-temperature heat that could replace fossil fuels in steel manufacturing and other industrial processes.

In the energy efficiency program area, advanced materials and manufacturing technologies focuses on next-generation materials and processes, secure and sustainable materials, and energy technology manufacturing and its workforce.⁴⁵ Industrial efficiency and decarbonization focuses on sector-specific technology innovation, cross-sector decarbonization technologies, and technical assistance and workforce development.⁴⁶ The building technologies program includes R&D on lighting, space conditioning, windows, and control technologies to reduce building energy-use intensity.

In the energy efficiency program area, the advanced manufacturing program focuses on improving the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes and on the manufacturing of energy-related products. The building technologies program includes R&D on lighting, space conditioning, windows, and control technologies to reduce building energy-use intensity.

The Biden Administration has split several EERE programs into separate offices, although the FY2024 E&W enacted measure has continued funding them under the EERE appropriations account:

• State and Community Energy Programs, which provides two types of formula grants to states: weatherization grants for improving the energy efficiency of low-income housing units and state energy planning grants. For more details on energy efficiency grants, see CRS Report R46418, The Weatherization Assistance Program Formula, by Corrie E. Clark and Lynn J. Cunningham.
• Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, which provides support for increasing U.S. manufacturing capacity for critical energy technologies and for increasing industrial energy efficiency.
• Federal Energy Management Program, which provides guidance and expertise to federal agencies to meet federal goals on energy use and emissions.

Electricity Delivery, Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Energy Reliability

The Office of Electricity (OE) "leads the Department of Energy's research, development, and demonstration programs to strengthen and modernize our nation's power grid so that our nation maintains a reliable, resilient, and secure electricity delivery infrastructure" according to the OE website.⁴⁷

OE uses a model of North American energy vulnerabilities for analyzing transmission and other energy infrastructure needs. Other activities include pursuing megawatt-scale electricity storage, integrating electric power system sensing technology, and analyzing electricity-related policy issues. The Administration has established a separate Grid Deployment Office to support modernization of the nation's electricity transmission system and critical generating facilities through planning and financial assistance.

The DOE Grid Deployment Office, established by the Biden Administration in 2022, received a separate appropriations account in the FY2024 E&W enacted measure. According to DOE, the Grid Deployment Office supports "the development of new and upgraded electric infrastructure across the country."⁴⁸

The Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) is the federal government's lead entity for energy sector-specific responses to energy security emergencies—whether caused by physical infrastructure problems or by cybersecurity issues. The office conducts R&D on energy infrastructure security technology; provides energy sector security guidelines, training, and technical assistance; and enhances energy sector emergency preparedness and response.

Nuclear Energy

DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy supports R&D on technologies to improve the efficiency and economic viability of existing U.S. nuclear power plants, development and demonstration of advanced reactor technologies, and R&D on nuclear fuel cycle technologies.

The Reactor Concepts program area comprises research on advanced reactors, including advanced small modular reactors, and research to enhance the "sustainability" of existing commercial light water reactors. Advanced reactor research focuses on "Generation IV" reactors, as opposed to the existing fleet of commercial light water reactors, which are generally classified as Generations II and III.

The Fuel Cycle Research and Development program includes generic research on nuclear waste management and disposal. One of the program's primary activities is the development of technologies to separate the radioactive constituents of spent fuel for reuse or solidifying into stable waste forms. Other major research areas in the Fuel Cycle R&D program include the development of accident-tolerant fuels for existing commercial reactors, evaluation of fuel cycle options, and development of improved technologies to prevent diversion of nuclear materials for weapons. The program is also developing sources of HALEU, in which uranium is enriched to between 5% and 20% in the fissile isotope U-235, for potential use in advanced reactors. HALEU would be required for several designs currently receiving cost-shared support by DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. For more information, see CRS Report R45706, Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Technology Overview and Current Issues, by Mark Holt.

Fossil Energy and Carbon Management

The Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment program was formerly known as the Fossil Energy Research and Development program. It has historically supported research related to coal, natural gas, and petroleum,⁴⁹ including a major focus area on the development of carbon capture and storage technologies for use on coal-fired power plants. The program also supports operations at the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Under the Biden Administration, FECM has shifted its focus to what it calls carbon management. This includes a focus on development of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies, hydrogen technologies, and options to reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel infrastructure. FECM also leads DOE's activities related to critical minerals and rare earth elements.

Additionally, FECM is involved in a number of programs funded by IIJA, either managing the programs directly or consulting with other DOE offices that have the lead management role. These programs include Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs, Carbon Storage Validation and Testing, Critical Mineral Innovation Efficiency, and Alternatives, and the Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (CIFIA). Total IIJA appropriations for all programs in which FECM is involved is $1.447 billion for FY2024. Additionally, CIFIA in FY2023 was appropriated $2.097 billion, which remains available to support CO₂ transportation projects.

FECM's current carbon capture research focuses on natural gas-fired power plants and applications outside the power sector, in line with congressional direction provided in the Energy Act of 2020 (Division Z of P.L. 116-260) and other recent laws. FECM also focuses on research into producing hydrogen from fossil fuels and using hydrogen in the power sector.

For more information, see CRS In Focus IF11861, DOE's Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Removal Programs, by Ashley J. Lawson; CRS In Focus IF12163, Department of Energy Funding for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Programs FY2022, by Martin C. Offutt; and CRS Report R44902, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in the United States, by Angela C. Jones and Ashley J. Lawson.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)

Authorized in 1975 by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (P.L. 94-163, as amended; 42 U.S.C. §§6201 et seq.), the SPR fulfills two statutory policy objectives: (1) reduce the economic impact of oil supply disruptions, and (2) carry out U.S. obligations under the Agreement on an International Energy Program (IEP)—a multilateral, voluntary agreement subject to international law. Currently, the SPR consists of a government-owned crude oil reserve in Texas and Louisiana and a smaller gasoline reserve in several northeastern states leased from commercial storage operators.

Since the SPR was established, various administrations directed crude oil drawdowns on four occasions in response to emergency oil supply disruptions. During FY2022, emergency SPR authorities aimed to address anticipated oil supply disruptions following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. The Biden Administration released 180 million barrels during FY2022, the largest ever emergency SPR release.⁵⁰ More frequently, DOE uses SPR authorities to exchange crude oil with refiners following natural disasters (i.e., hurricanes) and other regional supply disruption events.⁵¹ The Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve—established in 2014—has never been utilized.

Because of limited utilization in response to emergency oil supply disruptions prior to the 2022 Ukraine war, growing U.S. crude oil production, and rapidly declining net petroleum imports—one key metric used to determine IEP emergency oil stock obligations—Congress began requiring DOE to draw down and sell SPR crude oil to pay for other legislative priorities. Between 2015 and 2021, Congress enacted eight laws mandating the sale of 358.6 million barrels of crude oil. Congress cancelled 140 million barrels of these mandated sales in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Additionally, Congress required DOE to sell approximately $1.5 billion of SPR crude oil to pay for an SPR modernization program.⁵² (For further policy changes proposed for FY2024, see section on "Strategic Petroleum Reserve Rescissions, Sales, and Closing of Gasoline Reserve.")

Science

The DOE Office of Science conducts basic research in six program areas: advanced scientific computing research, basic energy sciences, biological and environmental research, fusion energy sciences, high-energy physics, and nuclear physics. According to DOE's FY2024 budget justification, the Office of Science "is the Nation's largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead Federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for our Nation's energy future."⁵³

DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program focuses on developing and maintaining computing and networking capabilities for science and research in applied mathematics, computer science, and advanced networking. The program plays a key role in the DOE-wide effort to advance the development of exascale computing, with the first exascale system starting operation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in May 2022.⁵⁴

Basic Energy Sciences (BES), the largest program area in the Office of Science, focuses on understanding, predicting, and ultimately controlling matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels. The program supports research in disciplines such as condensed matter and materials physics, chemistry, and geosciences. BES also provides funding for scientific user facilities (e.g., the National Synchrotron Light Source II, and the Linac Coherent Light Source-II), and certain DOE research centers and hubs (e.g., Energy Frontier Research Centers, as well as the Batteries and Energy Storage and Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hubs).

Biological and Environmental Research (BER) seeks a predictive understanding of complex biological, climate, and environmental systems across a continuum from the small scale (e.g., genomic research) to the large (e.g., Earth systems and climate). Within BER, Biological Systems Science focuses on plant and microbial systems, while Biological and Environmental Research supports climate-relevant atmospheric and ecosystem modeling and research. BER facilities and centers include four Bioenergy Research Centers and the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) seeks to increase understanding of the behavior of matter at very high temperatures and to establish the science needed to develop a fusion energy source. FES provides funding for the ITER project, a multinational effort to design and build an experimental fusion reactor.

The High Energy Physics (HEP) program conducts research on the fundamental constituents of matter and energy, including studies of dark energy and the search for dark matter. Nuclear Physics supports research on the nature of matter, including its basic constituents and their interactions. A major project in the Nuclear Physics program is the construction of the Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.

Two significant research efforts in the Office of Science cut across multiple program areas: quantum information science, which aims to use quantum physics to process information, and artificial intelligence and machine learning, which use computerized systems that work and react in ways commonly thought to require intelligence.

For more details, see CRS Report R47564, Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2024, coordinated by John F. Sargent Jr.

Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy

ARPA-E is a DOE office authorized by the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) to support transformational energy technology research projects. DOE budget documents describe ARPA-E's mission as overcoming long-term, high-risk technological barriers to the development of energy technologies. According to DOE, since 2009 ARPA-E has provided $3.76 billion in R&D funding to 1,560 projects, and 230 project teams have raised more than $12.1 billion in private sector follow-on funding.⁵⁵

Clean Energy Demonstrations

DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations funds cost-shared demonstrations of clean energy technologies, including "clean hydrogen, carbon management, industrial decarbonization, advanced nuclear reactors, long-duration energy storage, demonstration projects in rural or remote areas and on current and former mine land, and more."⁵⁶ OCED's portfolio includes the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (transferred from the Office of Nuclear Energy), which is funding two 50% cost-shared advanced reactor demonstrations in Wyoming and Texas. OCED also supports the regional Hydrogen Hubs established by IIJA to establish hydrogen supply chains for industrial, transportation, and other decarbonization uses.

Loan Guarantees and Direct Loans

DOE's Loan Programs Office provides loan guarantees and direct loans under several authorities: Title 17 (XVII), Tribal, and ATVM for projects that deploy innovative energy technologies, as authorized by Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT05, as amended at 43 U.S.C. §§16511 et seq.), direct loans for advanced vehicle manufacturing technologies, and loan guarantees for tribal energy projects. Section 1703 of EPACT05 authorized loan guarantees for advanced energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Section 1705 authorized a temporary program through FY2011 for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Loans and guarantees for tribal energy projects are authorized under Section 503 of EPACT05. (For more information on tribal loans and guarantees, see CRS In Focus IF11793, Indian Energy Programs at the Department of Energy, by Corrie E. Clark, Mark Holt, and Lexie Ryan.)

Title XVII allows DOE to provide loan guarantees for up to 80% of construction costs for eligible energy projects. In general, successful applicants must pay an up-front fee, or "subsidy cost," to cover potential losses under the loan guarantee program. IRA appropriated $3.600 billion for Section 1703 subsidy costs. IRA also established a time-limited (available through FY2026), $250 billion Title 17 loan guarantee commitment authority—Section 1706—for "Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Financing." IRA appropriated $5.000 billion to carry out the Section 1706 program.

Under the loan guarantee agreements, the federal government would repay all covered loans if the borrower defaulted. Such guarantees would reduce the risk to lenders and allow them to provide financing at below-market interest rates. DOE currently has more than approximately $60 billion in authority available to make direct loans and loan guarantees.

To date, the only loan guarantees under Section 1703 awarded have been to the consortium building two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, totaling about $12 billion, and for a Utah hydrogen storage project, with a guarantee of $500 million.⁵⁷ A $1.52 billion Section 1706 conditional loan guarantee commitment to restart the closed Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan was announced by DOE on March 27, 2024.⁵⁸ As of March 2024, applications for 203 additional loan guarantees totaling approximately $262.2 billion were under consideration by the DOE Loan Programs Office.⁵⁹

Energy Information Administration

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) was established within DOE as the lead federal agency for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data on U.S. and world energy supply and consumption. EIA data collection spans the energy system from supply and transport to consumption. All energy sources are included in EIA's data and analysis products, though some (e.g., petroleum) are more detailed than others (e.g., renewables). Recent areas of congressional interest include improvements to EIA's computer models used to project U.S. energy supply and demand over time, and EIA's data collection related to energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings and by cryptocurrency miners. For more details, see CRS Report R46524, The U.S. Energy Information Administration, coordinated by Ashley J. Lawson.

Nuclear Weapons Activities

In the absence of explosive testing of nuclear weapons, the United States has adopted a science-based program to maintain and sustain confidence in the reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Congress established the Stockpile Stewardship Program in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (P.L. 103-160). The goal of the program, as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84, §3111), is to ensure "that the nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure, and reliable without the use of underground nuclear weapons testing." The program is operated by NNSA, a semiautonomous agency within DOE established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (P.L. 106-65, Title XXXII). NNSA implements the Stockpile Stewardship Program through the activities funded by the Weapons Activities account in the NNSA budget.

Most of NNSA's weapons activities take place at the nuclear weapons complex, which consists of three laboratories (Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA; and Sandia National Laboratories, NM and CA); four production sites (Kansas City National Security Campus, MO; Pantex Plant, TX; Savannah River Site, SC; and Y-12 National Security Complex, TN); and the Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site). NNSA manages and sets policy for the weapons complex; contractors to NNSA operate the eight sites. Radiological activities at these sites are subject to oversight and recommendations by the independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, funded by Title IV of the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill.

NNSA's budget has four major Weapons Activities program areas:

• Stockpile Management supports work directly on nuclear weapons. These include life extension programs, warhead surveillance, maintenance, and other activities.
• Production Modernization programs focus on maintaining and expanding the production capabilities for the components of nuclear weapons that are critical to weapons performance. According to NNSA, these include primaries, canned subassemblies, radiation cases, and non-nuclear components.
• Stockpile Research, Technology, and Engineering provides the scientific and technical foundation for science-based stockpile decisions.
• Infrastructure and Operations maintains, operates, and modernizes the NNSA infrastructure. It supports construction of new facilities and funds deferred maintenance in older facilities.

Nuclear Weapons Activities also has several smaller programs, including the following:

• Secure Transportation Asset, providing for safe and secure transport of nuclear weapons, components, and materials;
• Defense Nuclear Security, providing operations, maintenance, and construction funds for protective forces, physical security systems, personnel security, and related activities; and
• Information Technology and Cybersecurity, whose elements include cybersecurity, secure enterprise computing, and Federal Unclassified Information Technology.

Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation

DOE's nonproliferation and national security programs provide technical capabilities to support U.S. efforts to prevent, detect, and counter the spread of nuclear weapons worldwide. These programs are administered by NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN).

• The Materials Management and Minimization program conducts activities to minimize and, where possible, eliminate stockpiles of weapons-useable material around the world, such as conversion of reactors that use highly enriched uranium (useable for weapons) to low-enriched uranium.
• Global Materials Security works to increase the security of vulnerable stockpiles of nuclear material in other countries, promotes the worldwide removal, reduction, and security of radioactive sources (typically used in medical and industrial devices), and improves the capability of other countries to halt illicit trafficking of nuclear materials.
• The Nonproliferation and Arms Control program conducts reviews of nuclear export applications and technology transfer authorizations, implements treaty obligations, and analyzes nonproliferation policies and proposals.
• The Bioassurance Program, established in FY2023, aims to expand DOE's role in biodefense and develop national laboratory capabilities "to anticipate, detect, assess, and mitigate emerging biothreats."
• Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D) advances U.S. capabilities to detect and characterize threats such as foreign nuclear material and weapons production, diversion of special nuclear material, and nuclear detonations.
• The Nonproliferation Construction program disposes of excess U.S. weapons plutonium through a "dilute and dispose" strategy.

This account also includes the Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response Program (NCTIR), which evaluates nuclear and radiological threats and develops emergency preparedness plans, including organizing scientific teams to provide rapid response to nuclear or radiological incidents or accidents worldwide.

For more information, see CRS Report R44413, Energy and Water Development Appropriations for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation: In Brief, by Mary Beth D. Nikitin.

Cleanup of Former Nuclear Weapons Production and Research Sites

The development and production of nuclear weapons since the beginning of the Manhattan Project⁶⁰ during World War II resulted in a waste and contamination legacy managed by DOE that continues to present substantial challenges. DOE also manages legacy environmental contamination at sites used for nondefense nuclear research. In 1989, DOE established the Office of Environmental Management primarily to consolidate its responsibilities for the cleanup of former nuclear weapons production sites that had been administered under multiple offices.⁶¹

DOE has identified more than 100 separate sites in over 30 states that historically were involved in the production of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy research for civilian purposes.⁶² Responsibility for long-term stewardship at sites where remediation is complete or remedies are in place is transferred from EM to the separate DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) and other offices within DOE.⁶³ Some of the smaller sites for which DOE initially was responsible were transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers in 1997 under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Once USACE completes the cleanup of a FUSRAP site, it is transferred back to LM, which has its own DOE funding subaccount within Other Defense Activities.

Power Marketing Administrations

DOE's four Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) were established to sell the power generated by various federal dams. The PMAs operate in 34 states; their assets consist primarily of transmission infrastructure in the form of more than 33,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines and 587 substations. PMA customers are responsible for repaying all power program expenses, plus the interest on capital projects. Since FY2011, power revenues associated with the PMAs have been classified as discretionary offsetting receipts (i.e., receipts that are available for spending by the PMAs), thus the agencies are sometimes noted as having a "net-zero" spending authority. Only the capital expenses of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) are supported by appropriations from Congress.

Independent Agencies

Independent agencies that receive funding in Title IV of the Energy and Water Development bill include NRC, ARC, and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. NRC receives the largest funding of these independent agencies. However, about 85% of NRC's budget is offset by fees, so that the agency's net appropriation is less than half of the total funding in Title IV. NRC and ARC are discussed in more detail below. The recent appropriations history for all the Title IV agencies, including proposed initial funding for the newly authorized Great Lakes Authority, is shown in Table 14. (For more about the GLA, see the "Funding Issues and Initiatives" section.) Additional FY2024 appropriations were provided by the IIJA for ARC and other regional commissions and authorities as shown in Table 15.

Appalachian Regional Commission

Established in 1965,⁶⁴ ARC is a regional economic development agency. It awards grants and contracts to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to foster economic opportunities, improve workforce skills, build critical infrastructure, strengthen natural and cultural assets, and improve leadership skills and capacity in the region. ARC's authorizing statute defines the Appalachian Region as including all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. More than 25 million people currently live in the region as defined.

ARC provides funding to several hundred projects each year, with particular focus on the region's most economically distressed counties. Major areas of infrastructure support include broadband communication systems, transportation, and water and wastewater systems. ARC has supported establishment of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), a planned 3,000-mile system of highways that connect with the U.S. Interstate Highway System. According to ARC, 91.1% of ADHS is "under construction or open to traffic."⁶⁵

Since FY2016, Congress has appropriated approximately $50 million per year as a set-aside for ARC's POWER Initiative (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization), which assists communities impacted by the decline of the coal industry. In FY2024,⁶⁶ Congress directed ARC to allocate $65 million to the POWER Initiative. The POWER Initiative funds a variety of economic, workforce, and community development projects to stabilize and stimulate economic activity in affected communities.

For more background on ARC and other regional commissions and authorities, see CRS In Focus IF11140, Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Overview of Structure and Activities, by Julie M. Lawhorn. For more background on the POWER Initiative, see CRS Report R46015, The POWER Initiative: Energy Transition as Economic Development, by Julie M. Lawhorn.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NRC is an independent agency that establishes and enforces safety and security standards for nuclear power plants and users of nuclear materials. Major appropriations and budget request categories for NRC are shown in Table 16. Nuclear Reactor Safety is NRC's largest program and is responsible for licensing and regulating the U.S. fleet of 93 power reactors, plus two under construction. NRC is also responsible for licensing and regulating nuclear waste facilities, such as the proposed underground nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV (which has received no new appropriations since FY2010).

NRC is required by law to offset its total annual appropriation, excluding specified items, through fees charged to nuclear reactor owners and other holders of NRC licenses. NRC does not retain the fee revenue, but instead sends it to the U.S. Treasury. Budget items excluded from fee recovery include prior-year balances, development of advanced reactor regulations, international activities, and nonsite-specific homeland security. As a result, NRC's net appropriation is about 15% of the agency's total budget.

Congressional Hearings

The following hearings were held by the Energy and Water Development subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the FY2024 budget request. Testimony and opening statements are posted on most of the web pages cited for each hearing, along with webcasts in many cases.

House

• Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, March 29, 2023, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/business-meetings/budget-hearing-fiscal-year-2024-request-army-corps-engineers-and
• Department of Energy, March 23, 2023, https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/budget-hearing-fiscal-year-2024-request-department-energy

Senate

• Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, April 26, 2023, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-fiscal-year-2024-budget-request-for-the-us-army-corps-of-engineers-and-the-bureau-of-reclamation
• Department of Energy, May 3, 2023, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/a-review-of-the-fiscal-year-2024-budget-request-for-the-us-department-of-energy-including-the-national-nuclear-security-administration