May 21, 2015

The Senate Appropriations Committee met on May 21 to mark up the fiscal year (FY) 2016 energy and water development funding bill. The bill that passed the committee totals $35.4 billion, $1.2 billion above the FY 2015 enacted level and $668 million below the President’s request, and funds the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Energy (DOE).  Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) presented the budget that passed the committee, which sets budget levels back to 2010 levels. Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D- MD) offered her own version of the bill that would have set funding at the Administration requested levels; her version was rejected in a party-line vote.

Citing the need to retain economic and technological superiority, Sen. Dick Durbin (D – IL) pointed out that the 1.4 percent budget increase to the DOE Office of Science was actually a smaller increase due to inflation, and that such a small increase squandered America’s technological leadership. Democratic committee members stressed that defense spending accounted for the majority of budget increases, with only an $8 million increase allocated for non-defense spending.

On May 1 the House of Representatives passed appropriations for the same agencies at the same $35.4 billion level. These bills may fund specific agencies differently, the total appropriations coming from the House and Senate are equivalent.  

Source: House Appropriations Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee

Updated June, 6 2015