Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Rating Member of the Home Appropriations Subcommittee on Power and Water Improvement, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Rating Member of the Subcommittee on Power and Water Improvement, requested the Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) to issue a legal decision on whether or not President Trump’s Dept. of Power (DOE) violated key appropriations legal guidelines in shifting lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} supplied for analysis and improvement of unpolluted vitality sources within the full-year persevering with decision (CR) President Trump signed into regulation in March and steering these funds to vitality sources it favors.
Particularly, Kaptur and Murray requested that GAO look into whether or not DOE’s spending decisions in fiscal year 2025 violate the Function Statute, which dictates that appropriations solely be used for the needs for which the appropriations had been supplied except in any other case supplied for by regulation, and the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal companies from spending funds prematurely of or in extra of an appropriation made by Congress.
In line with latest evaluation and inner reporting, the Division of Power’s spending choice will probably consequence within the layoffs of greater than 3,000 nationwide lab scientists and employees — and can stop over 50 college awards, over 30 trade awards, over 20 non-profit awards and several other native authorities awards from being issued.
In making the request, Congresswoman Kaptur and Senator Murray stated in an announcement:
“In shifting these funds, President Trump shouldn’t be solely defying the regulation — he’s elevating working households’ vitality payments and undermining America’s vitality independence. Shortchanging these vitality sources of the long run fingers a bonus to our world rivals whereas jacking up People’ vitality prices. This choice is hurting our nationwide labs, ravenous our universities of sources to conduct cutting-edge analysis, and undercutting companies, native governments, and communities throughout the nation. We’re asking GAO to look into whether or not this choice violates key appropriations legal guidelines, and we once more name on the Division of Power to revive the funding ranges that had been signed into regulation by President Trump himself.”
In fiscal yr 2024, Congress supplied $137 million for the Dept. of Power to assist wind vitality initiatives and supplied $318 million to assist photo voltaic vitality. The fiscal yr 2025 full-year CR that Home Republicans wrote and President Trump signed into regulation continued these fiscal yr 2024 funding ranges. However in a spend plan made public earlier this month, the Trump administration revealed it’s steering lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} designated by Congress to assist wind and photo voltaic vitality to different, favored industries — jeopardizing vital progress and ceding floor on key vitality options of the long run — amongst different dangerous cuts. As a substitute of funding wind vitality initiatives at $137 million, the administration is funding them at $29.8 million (a 78% lower), and as a substitute of funding photo voltaic initiatives at $318 million, it’s funding them at $41.9 million (an 87% lower).
Information merchandise from the Workplace of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
