House Panel OKs Energy, Water Spending Bill; Renewables Take a Hit

"House appropriators [Thursday] cleared a $30.6 billion spending bill for the Energy Department and Army Corps of Engineers that could see a floor vote before August.

The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee this morning passed the fiscal 2012 funding measure (pdf) by voice vote. Full Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he would move it through the full committee and to the House floor before the chamber breaks for summer recess in August.

The spending plan -- which includes $24.7 billion for DOE, $4.8 billion for the Army Corps and $934 million for the Bureau of Reclamation -- raised eyebrows this week with its inclusion of $35 million for the shuttered Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Republicans concerned about the Obama administration's decision to shut down the site provided $25 million for the project and $10 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue its license application review for the site."

Katie Howell reports for Greenwire June 2, 2011.