$18.9 billion sought to fuel Department of Energy in 2001

President Clinton's proposed budget earmarks $2.2 billion for energy resources, which would include research at the High Flux Isotope Reactor Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

In this story: Science and technology Energy resources Environmental quality National security RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Stephen Schowengerdt

February 11, 2000
Web posted at: 12:34 p.m. EST (1734 GMT)

The Department of Energy is plugging its $18.9 billion 2001 budget request a 9 percent increase over this year's allocation as a science appropriation, downplaying the department's national security role.

"Based on news stories last year, some people may think that the department is solely a national security agency," said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson in prepared remarks. "But the fact is that the Department of Energy is at its heart a science agency. Forty percent, or $7.6 billion, of the fiscal year 2001 budget request is for research and development .... We are by far the nation's largest government agency in the physical sciences and in building and operating research facilities."

The DOE budget request is divided into four main categories:

• Science and technology, $3.2 billion
• Energy resources, $2.2 billion
• Environmental quality, $6.8 billion
• National security, $6.6 billion

Key initiatives in the budget include life sciences; ultra-clean transportation fuels, energy grid reliability, climate change technology, carbon sequestration, and robotics and intelligent machines.

Science and technology

The $3.2 billion science and technology request, 12 percent over the fiscal 2000 budget, is the largest increase in this area since 1992. The $7.6 billion figure cited by Richardson is the total of all research and development requests in the DOE budget.

Scientists inside Yucca Mountain, a potential repository for nuclear waste 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, monitor movement inside an underground tunnel at the site.

Research and development of extreme miniaturized technologies, also known as nanotechnology, requires $91 million in funding, according to the DOE. The technology involves manipulating matter at the atomic level and could have profound affects on information technology, medicine, national security, energy and the environment, according to the department.

"It could spark the production of supercomputers that fit into the palm of your hand or tiny devices to fight disease and repair injuries from inside our bodies," said Richardson.

Funding of $281 million was requested for a state-of-the-art neutron scattering facility, called the Spallation Neutron Source, and $247 million for fusion research. The Spallation Neutron Source is used to develop stronger and lighter materials, more efficient motors, and to better understand the structure of matter.

Energy resources

The $2.2 billion energy resources request includes an 18 percent increase in funding for energy efficiency and renewable-energy programs.

Specific areas earmarked for energy resources funds are:

• The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, in which DOE is participating, to develop an 80 mpg automobile that is as comfortable, safe and affordable as today's conventional vehicles. The DOE contribution applies fuel-cell technology in the aerospace industry to the automotive industry.

• A DOE program to weatherize 75,000 low-income homes to save money on utility bills, conserve energy and provide warmth in winter and cool air in summer.

• An increase in nuclear energy research and development funding to maintain the integrity of this energy option and to promote its safe use.

• Research and development of technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal energy that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultra-clean fuels and carbon sequestration initiatives.

Environmental quality

The $6.8 billion sought for environmental quality is an 8 percent increase over the fiscal 2000 budget. Most of the money is targeted to accelerate cleanups at former nuclear weapons sites; remove mill tailings near Moab, Utah; and to fund the Portsmouth and Paducah Gaseous Diffusion sites as well as the privatization initiative.

About $437 million is earmarked for scientific work to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a permanent high-level nuclear waste repository.

About $166 million is sought to make health and safety programs a key priority of the entire department.

National security

Some in Congress believe national security is too important to be left to the DOE, while some, such as Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, believe the department has grown into a "bureaucracy with confused missions and questionable priorities."

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2000 established a semi-autonomous agency within DOE called the National Nuclear Security Administration. Department programs that will be consolidated under NNSA on March 1 are defense, nonproliferation and national security, fissile materials disposition and naval reactors. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Nevada field operations offices will also be lumped under NNSA.

DOE is asking for $6.2 billion, a $432 million increase over fiscal 2000, to fund NNSA.

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Department of Energy
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network
Clean Energy for the 21st Century
The Alliance to Save Energy
$18.9 billion 2001 budget request

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