Environment America is calling on Congress to reject the Omnibus Appropriations bill being considered tomorrow because it would provide appalling and unjustified subsidies of nearly $30 billion dollars for dirty energy technologies including coal and nuclear.
Just last week we applauded Congress and Speaker Pelosi for passing an energy bill that increased fuel economy standards. Now Congress is considering an omnibus spending bill that gives three times as much in loan guarantees to dirty energy as clean energy, including $20.5 billion for nuclear power and $8 billion for coal. Unfortunately, end of the year budget bills often get loaded with outrageous handouts to powerful special interests. But, this one has tied a ribbon around a shiny package for the nuclear and fossil fuel industry and will stick the American public and our environment with the bill.
While Wall Street has consistently rejected funding new nuclear plants, the industry keeps coming back for more federal subsidies for projects. In comments on the proposed rulemaking for the existing loan guarantee program, six of Wall Street’s leading investment banks including Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch said, “We believe these risks, combined with the higher capital costs and longer construction schedules of nuclear plants as compared to other generation facilities, will make lenders unwilling at present to extend long-term credit.”
For the nuclear industry and these loan guarantees, it seems like the third time really is the charm. The nuclear industry failed to get loan guarantees included in the energy bill so they tried the farm bill. After failing in the farm bill they are poised to succeed in the appropriations bill.
The $8 billion subsidy could be used for a whole host of dirty projects, including liquid coal facilities. Liquid coal is a dirty technology that produces twice the global warming gas emissions as conventional gasoline and uses 5 gallons of water for every gallon of transportation fuel funded. Even with increased fuel economy standards we will never be able to reduce our global warming emissions if we insist on fueling our cars and trucks with coal. At a time when we should be focusing on the cleanest, cheapest solutions to our energy and global warming problems, the Omnibus spending bill hands the mother of all gift cards to dirty energy industries.
It is also unfortunate that the bill contains dramatic cuts to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund that provides funds to help communities pay for mandated water pollution facilities like sewage treatment plants. The omnibus appropriations bill would decrease spending for this program by 35 percent from last year at a time when the needs for water quality spending are increasing.
