President Donald Trump reportedly plans to propose a 72% cut in funding for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, according to the Washington Post, which cites a leaked draft of the DOE budget for fiscal year 2019.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) says the president’s proposal would cut the department’s budget for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs from more than $2 billion down to about $576 million. That 72% cut exceeds the aggressive 68% cut he proposed in his budget for fiscal year 2018 – a proposal that Congress has so far refused to adopt, notes EDF.
“President Trump is ordering a devastating blow to the clean energy revolution that employs millions of workers across America,” says Elgie Holstein, EDF’s senior director for strategic planning. “The research and development in clean energy and efficiency that’s being done at DOE is the cornerstone of our country’s efforts to develop the clean energy future we all want.”
The budget proposals are expected to be released on Feb. 12, says EDF.
Likewise, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is speaking out against the proposed cuts:
“It’s no wonder, with Groundhog Day around the corner, that the Trump administration is floating another absurd budget proposal on energy,” comments Elizabeth Noll, energy expert at NRDC. “Instead of leading the charge on the nation’s fastest-growing employment sector – wind and solar power – the administration is rushing to surrender America’s leadership on clean energy. The federal government has long been the No. 1 funder of clean energy innovation in this country. A budget proposal like this ignores the benefits these investments spur in communities across the country. That’s not the leadership we need to power our future in cleaner, safer and more prosperous ways. And just like last year, Congress should ignore it.”
Furthermore, Melinda Pierce, legislative director of the Sierra Club, says, “In Donald Trump’s warped reality, the coal industry is growing, and his approval ratings are positive. But the rest of America knows that clean energy is booming, and they aren’t falling for Trump’s fake promises. It’s inexcusable that Trump would try to undercut the hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans employed by the clean energy economy so he can curry favor with a handful of fossil fuel billionaires. Trump needs to take his head out of the sand, stop trying to prop up his billionaire coal backers and wake up to recognize the clean energy revolution spreading across the country.”
