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For Immediate
Release
February 3, 2003
For More Information Contact: Jeremy Ames, (202)
662-1892
Farm
Bill Renewable Energy Program Cut in the Administration’s Budget
Carol Werner, Executive
Director, of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI),
today issued the following statement on the release of the
president’s FY2004 budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
“In his State of the Union
address, the president promised to ‘promote energy independence for
our country, while dramatically improving the environment.’ This is
a laudable goal, which is totally inconsistent with the
administration’s drastic cut of the Renewable Energy System and
Energy Efficiency Improvements program in the Department of
Agriculture’s FY04 budget. This visionary program was passed with
strong bipartisan support as part of the new energy title in the
2002 Farm Bill, signed by the president last May.
“Congress provided $23
million a year in mandatory funds, under section 9006 of the Farm
Bill, to provide grants, loans, and loan guarantees to farmers,
ranchers, and rural small businesses for the development of
renewable energy projects and energy efficiency improvements. This
program was designed to help farmers develop desperately needed new
income streams in the form of renewable energy, such as wind,
biomass, and solar energy to help meet the nation’s critical energy
needs. This is a ‘win-win’ effort, which was embraced by the
administration when enacted last year. Yet the administration’s
proposed FY2004 budget provides only $3 million for section 9006,
breaking a promise to rural America.
“Passage of the Energy Title was a
bipartisan victory for renewable energy and for rural America. The
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Improvements program should
be part of the president’s plan for achieving energy independence
with environmentally sustainable technologies. We call on the
president and Congress to fulfill their promise to rural American by
fully funding this vitally important program.”
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