FY ’09 Budget Request a Disappointing ‘Second Act’ to President’s Lofty State of the Union Goals

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Alliance to Save Energy today expressed sharp disappointment with President Bush’s FY 2009 budget request, which eliminates most recent funding increases for energy-efficiency programs and flies in the face of the lofty clean energy and efficiency goals set forth in the State of the Union.

“the most prominent voluntary program to address global warming.”

“How can the president seriously expect U.S. leadership in developing clean energy technologies and confronting climate change when he sends Congress a budget that erases nearly all of the gains in energy-efficiency program funding over the past five years?” asked Alliance President Kateri Callahan.

She explained: “In his State of the Union message last week, the president called for continued U.S. leadership in developing energy-efficiency technologies and in using energy efficiency to help reduce greenhouse gases. Yet today’s budget request confounds the president’s own rhetoric by reducing funding for key energy-efficiency and research and development programs, particularly those in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).”

Callahan also criticized the 9 percent, $8 million cut – to $44 million – in the request for the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program, which, she noted, is “the most prominent voluntary program to address global warming.”

Callahan also called the drastic reduction in funding for the DOE weatherization program, which provides funds to improve the efficiency of low-income families’ homes, “almost unbelievable when one considers the number of American consumers struggling with spiraling heating and other home energy costs in a time of economic downturn.”

Callahan acknowledged one bright spot in the energy budget – proposed modest gains in funding for the DOE Building Technologies Program. She stated, “Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. energy use and 39 percent of carbon emissions, so the proposed increase of $15 million over last year’s funding level is encouraging.”

Also encouraging, Callahan said, is the administration’s plan to look at strengthening building energy codes by 30 percent over current levels. “Implementing stronger building energy codes is a top priority of the Alliance, and we eagerly await the details as the budget request does not specify how this would be accomplished,” she said.

Despite those positive notes, however, Callahan closed by stating, “The president’s energy budget request as a whole represents a failure of leadership and we now look to Congress to step in and insure that energy-efficiency and clean technology programs are protected and adequately funded in the final year of the Bush Administration.”

FY 2009 Federal Energy Efficiency Programs Funding (Millions of Dollars)
Program (chart only includes program highlights)	FY02 Approp.^1	FY06 Approp.^2	FY08 Request	FY08 Approp.^3	FY09 Request	Change from ’08 Approp.	Change from ‘08 Request
Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office (Energy and Water Appropriations)
Building Technologies^1	85.630	83.430	86.456	108.999	123.765	14%	43%
Equipment Standards & Analysis	8.426	10.153	13.639	21.981	20.000	-9%	47%
Building Energy Codes	5.431	5.575	3.751	3.717	8.000	115%	113%
Energy Star (DOE)	3.000	5.940	6.776	6.714	8.000	19%	18%
Rebuild America	11.938	3.769	2.834	2.808	5.000	78%	76%
Residential Buildings Integration R&D (Building America)	11.843	17.544	19.268	23.659^3	26.006	10%	35%
Commercial Buildings Integration	5.672	3.960	7.000	11.891^3	13.000	9%	86%
Solid State Lighting R&D	6.228	19.800	19.283	24.062	19.113	-21%	-1%
Building Envelope R&D	5.264	7.850	7.119	7.054	8.652	23%	22%
Industrial Technologies	105.695	56.855	45.998	64.409	62.119	-4%	35%
Best Practices	9.070	7.920	8.833	8.753^3	15.532	77%	76%
Industrial Assessment Centers	5.859	6.435	4.035	3.998^3	4.035	1%	0%
Industries of the Future (Specific)	63.094	24.244	9.254	53.163^3	11.392	-79%	23%
Vehicle Technologies (including FreedomCAR)^1	198.158	228.401	226.038	262.489	221.086	-16%	-2%
Deployment (Clean Cities)	11.160	7.920	9.593	12.481^3	10.096	-19%	5%
Federal Energy Management	20.303	18.974	16.791	19.818	22.000	11%	31%
State Energy Program	45.000	35.640	45.501	44.095	50.000	13%	10%
Weatherization Assistance	230.000	242.550	144.000	227.221	0	-100%	-100%
TOTAL Above EERE Programs^1	695.494	669.166	564.784	727.031	478.970	-34%	-15%
Related DOE Programs
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells^1	76.590	117.250	163.100	161.616	146.213	-10%	-10%
Electricity R&D		136.289	85.994		100.200		17%
Environmental Protection Agency (Interior Appropriations)
Energy Star (EPA)	50.500	49.757	43.926	52.000	44	-9%	0%

¹ These are appropriated amounts. Actual spending is reduced mostly by a mandated transfer of 2.65% of extramural R&D funds for SBIR/STTR. Some funding levels are adjusted to reflect current organization and categories.

² The FY06 appropriation reflects an overall rescission of 1%.

³ Includes a rescission of 0.91% in DOE programs and 1.56% in EPA programs. Includes increases that Congress did not allocate at the individual program level—thus some levels were determined by DOE.