Lawmakers extend their timeline to pass a crucial spending bill, focusing on the energy and water bill’s funding, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Representative Marcy Kaptur emphasizes the need for realistic investment in energy and water resources, highlighting the impact on the nation’s economy and security, while expressing concerns about budget cuts to critical energy programs.
“I prefer a more realistic energy and water allocation that invests in the critical energy and water needs of our nation, especially to grow our economy and to meet the public interest. Ask the citizens of Maui or the state of Washington, or along the drought-stricken Mississippi and Louisiana corridor, saltwater creeps north, or the flood victims in New York City. Retrenchment is not in the nation’s interest. Energy and water security are national security, yet the non-defense spending in this bill is $5.4 billion lower, that’s 22 percent lower than last year’s effective level. It repeals over $5 billion dollars for critical energy programs from the Inflation Reduction Act that would have helped countless American families save money on their monthly energy bills while simultaneously creating thousands of jobs in new energy technologies for energy and water leaks. It is not an overstatement to say people in our nation, live and die by decisions being made here in Congress,” Rep. Kaptur explains.
