Will Deal on National Debt Jeopardize Job-Creating Renewable Energy Programs?

With the deal on the debt ceiling and overall deficit reduction completed August 2, next come decisions on which programs to cut. Environmental protection, energy efficiency, renewable energy, public land management, and agriculture and forestry conservation programs are all at risk of being cut deeply, potentially putting at risk tens of thousands of public and private sector jobs and jeopardizing energy, economic, and environmental security for future generations – unless Congress can be persuaded otherwise.

On August 2, the President signed legislation to raise the national debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion. The bill also requires the federal budget to be cut by $917 billion over the next ten years, starting with a $21 billion reduction in overall discretionary spending in fiscal year 2012. The bill also requires a 12-member bipartisan Congressional committee to be formed to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit by another $1.2 trillion by November 23, and requires Congress to enact that plan before the end of December. House leadership has said that they will only consider cuts in spending, not increases in revenue. The Washington Post provides a good graphic summary of the key components of the debt deal.

House and Senate leaders have now named the bipartisan Congressional “supercommittee.” Committee members are Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI), Fred Upton (R-MI), Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Xavier Becerra (D-CA); and Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Max Baucus (D-MT), John F. Kerry (D-MA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Patrick Toomey (R-PA), and Rob Portman (R-OH). A majority of seven must approve the plan before it is submitted to Congress for a vote.

Which programs will be cut and by how much remains to be determined.

At a time of continuing high unemployment, the federal government must weigh the costs of these programs with their proven economic benefits. Public investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, conservation, public lands, and environmental protection will sustain and create thousands of jobs and pay dividends to American taxpayers for decades to come in the form of improved economic, energy, and environmental security.

EESI echoed this message in late July when it joined in a letter to Senate appropriators urging continued investment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, and the Biorefinery Assistance Program.