U.S. Senator Katie Britt, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, joined her colleagues in advancing the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. The bill appropriates more than $72 million in direct investments Senator Britt secured for projects across Alabama.
“From the rivers that wind across Alabama to Mobile Harbor, our state’s waterways are critical connectors that drive opportunity, recreation, and economic growth in every corner of our great state,” said Sen. Britt. “These investments would help ensure Alabama remains beautiful and a sweet home to do business long into the future.”
In the bill, Britt prioritized investing in key Alabama priorities, including the following:
· $20.6 million to revitalize and repair the George W. Andrews Lock and Dam on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers at Columbia, Alabama.
· $18.4 million for dredging, maintenance, and operations on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
· $12.1 million for dredging, maintenance, and operations on the Black Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers
· $11.2 million for dredging, maintenance, and operations in Mobile Harbor.
· $10.5 million for dredging, maintenance, and operations on the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River System
Senator Britt also supported programmatic language in the bill that would set aside $200 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission, which serves 37 counties in Alabama, and $30.1 million for the Delta Regional Authority, which serves 20 counties across the state.
The Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act provides $58.095 billion in total funding for the Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and independent agencies.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) Chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.
“Our energy and water infrastructure need significant investment to meet the needs of Americans throughout the country, particularly in the West,” said Sen. Feinstein. “This bill will help modernize our water systems to improve and increase dam safety, water storage, water recycling, desalination projects, and more. And as we experience new heat records, our bill also makes key investments in expanding clean energy and fighting against climate change. I want to thank Ranking Member [John] Kennedy for being a partner in moving forward this important bipartisan legislation.”
Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) Chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“This is a strong bipartisan bill that keeps America’s lights on and water flowing to our farms, propels cutting-edge scientific research, ensures nuclear security, and advances key environmental cleanup efforts,” said Chairwoman Murray. “These investments are key to making sure communities have the water resources they need to grow crops, strengthening our competitiveness globally, furthering clean energy research and capacity, and so much else. I’m also glad we are able to provide new resources to maintain our ports and harbors, which are so critical to trade, tourism, and even people’s daily commutes.”
The bill provides $8.934 billion in total funding for the Corps of Engineers. The bill provides a historic $2.77 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to improve navigation through dredging ports, maintain waterways, and ensure efficient water transport. The bill also includes funding for critical inland waterways navigation projects.
The bill continues investments in critical construction projects to protect communities from extreme weather events and more frequent flooding. The bill also expands the Water Infrastructure Financing Program to include levees, allowing low-interest loans for communities to make improvements and increase protection from flood events.
The Bureau of Reclamation receives $1.921 in funding to deliver reliable water and hydroelectric power to the western United States. The bill includes $186 million for Western drought programs under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which supports long-term drought strategies, including water storage, water recycling and reuse, and desalination. The bill includes funding to support rural water supply projects and critical grant programs that invest in research and innovative applications of water-saving technologies.
The bill provides $17.3 billion for the Department of Energy’s non-defense programs. The bill provides $8.43 billion in new directed funding—$330 million over fiscal year 2023—for the Office of Science. This funding will help implement the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The Office of Science is the largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and supports 22,000 researchers at 17 national laboratories and more than 300 universities.
The bill provides $3.5 million in new funding for industrial emissions and technology coordination to coordinate clean industrial research, development, demonstrations, and deployment across the Department of Energy.
The bill provides $3.686 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, $227 million above fiscal year 2023. This includes increases in wind energy, water technologies, and advanced manufacturing.
The bill provides $200 million for Cybersecurity.
The bill provides $1.55 billion for Nuclear Energy research and development, including funding for microreactor development and accident-tolerant fuel important for nuclear reactor safety.
The bill provides $75 million for the Indian Energy Policy and Programs and updates the Tribal Loan Guarantee Program to help Tribal Nations deploy clean energy.
The bill also provides $32.8 billion for atomic energy defense activities for the Department of Energy, including Nuclear National Security, and $18.8 billion for Weapons Activities, $1.7 billion above fiscal year 2023, including $142 million above the request for Savannah River plutonium pit production, and a nearly $400 million or 110 percent increase above fiscal year 2023 for the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
Katie Britt was elected to the Senate in 2022.
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