Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement on climate change provisions in the fiscal year 2020 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that Congress passed last week:

“As part of the funding package that Congress passed this week, we approved one the most sweeping bills ever to combat climate change. This year’s energy and water funding bill takes the issue seriously and funds key programs that will actually address the climate emergency.

“Our bill provides the most funding ever for renewable energy programs and scientific research. For the first time it includes funding for programs to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

“This funding bill represents concrete steps to combat climate change, but much more needs to be done. I’d like to thank Chairman Lamar Alexander and our House counterparts, Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur and Ranking Member Mike Simpson, for working closely with me to take this important first step.”

Clean and Renewable Energy Funding

• A record $2.85 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program, an increase of nearly $500 million over last year, to fund critical research to reduce the cost and accelerate adoption of carbon-free renewable energy.
  
  
• $7 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, an increase of $415 million over last year, which supports advanced and sustainable energy research.
  
  
• $60 million is included in first-time funding for research on how to cost-effectively remove carbon directly from the air.
  
  
• The highest-ever funding level for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which funds research and supports the development of cutting-edge energy companies.