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Trump Again Seeks Deep Cuts in Renewable Energy Funding
Congressional Republicans make up bullsh-t that we will “innovate” our way out of our climate crisis. So will they do that by supporting Trump’s 70% cut to renewable energy research?
Trump administration is again seeking severe cuts to the U.S. Energy Department division charged with renewable energy and energy efficiency research.... the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would see its $2.3 billion budget slashed by about 70 percent, to $700 million, under Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget request.
Trump has tried to gut the program before, only to be rebuffed by Congress. Last year, the White House proposed cutting the agency’s funding by nearly two-thirds, but Congress instead provided $2.3 billion for the agency.... conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation have called for the office to be eliminated entirely, saying energy innovation is best left up to the private sector.
Actions speak louder than words – and we need action now. “It’s a shutdown budget,” said Mike Carr, who served as the No. 2 official within the division under President Barack Obama. “That’s apparently what they want to signal to their base -- they still want to shut these programs down.”
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in grants and other financial assistance for clean energy, has financed research into technologies ranging from electric vehicles to energy projects powered by ocean waves. It has been credited with financing research to help make the cost of wind power competitive with coal, and cutting the costs of LED lighting.