The Bush Administration's FY2005 budget request, released February 2, 2004, budgetedEnergy and Water Development Programs at $27.94 billion, compared to $27.26 billion appropriatedfor the same programs for FY2004. On June 16 the House Appropriations Committee reported itsbill with $27.99 billion, and the House passed it June 25. The House and Senate both approved aconference report ( H.Rept. 108-792 ) on H.R. 4818 on November 20, containingFY2005 appropriations for previously unpassed bills, including Energy and Water Development. H.R. 4818 was forwarded to the President December 6 and signed December 8 ( P.L.108-447 ). Table 1. Status of Energy and Water DevelopmentAppropriations, FY2005 *Held at desk in Senate until December 6, when the House approved H.Con.Res. 528 . The Energy and Water Development bill includes funding for civil worksprojects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of theInterior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE),and a number of independent agencies, including the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission (NRC) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The BushAdministration's request was $27.938 billion for these programs for FY2005,compared with $27.253 billion appropriated for FY2004. The House bill( H.R. 4614 ) reported by the Appropriations Committee, and passed bythe House June 25, contained funding at $27.988 billion. The omnibus ConsolidatedAppropriations bill ( H.R. 4818 , P.L. 108-447 ) appropriates $28.488billion, less an across-the-board rescission of 0.80% (Division J, section 122, asamended by H.Con.Res 528). Throughout this report, figures cited for funding in theomnibus bill do not reflect this 0.80% reduction. Table 2 includes budget totals for energy and water development appropriations enacted for FY1998 to FY2004 and the Administration's request for FY2005. Table 2. Energy and Water Development Appropriations, FY1998 to FY2005 (budget authority in billions of current dollars) a a These figures represent current dollars, exclude permanent budget authorities, andreflect rescissions. Table 3 lists totals for each of the four titles. The table also lists several "scorekeeping" adjustments of accounts within Titles II and III that affect the totalamount appropriated in the bill but are not included in the totals of the individualtitles. Table 3. Energy and Water Development Appropriations Summary of Funding by Title ($ billions) Source: H.Rept. 108-792 . Note: a. Does not include the modified rescission amount of .80% in H.Con.Res. 528 . For the Corps in FY2005, the Administration requested $4.12 billion, a decrease of $460 million from the enacted appropriation for FY2004. The Administration'srequest focused funding on construction projects that could be completed in FY2005and eight projects considered priorities by the Administration, including the FloridaEverglades. The omnibus H.R. 4818 ( P.L. 108-447 ) increased thefunding to $4.71 billion before the rescission. The Administration asked for $970 million for FY2005 for the Department of the Interior programs included in the Energy and Water Development bill -- theBureau of Reclamation and the Central Utah Project. This would be a decrease of$11 million from the FY2004 funding level. The House bill ( H.R. 4614 )would have appropriated $1.021 billion. The omnibus bill appropriated $1.020billion, less the rescission. The FY2005 request for DOE programs in the bill was $23.148 billion, about $1.18 billion more than the previous year. The major activities in the DOE budget areenergy research and development, general science, environmental cleanup, andnuclear weapons programs. (Funding of DOE's programs for fossil fuels, energyefficiency, and energy statistics is included in the Interior and Related Agenciesappropriations bill. The FY2005 net request for these programs was $1.7 billion.) The House bill ( H.R. 4614 ) would have appropriated $22.478 billion. The omnibus bill appropriated $23.003 billion, less the rescission. The FY2005 request for funding the independent agencies in Title IV of the bill was $232 million, compared with $228 million in FY2004. The House bill( H.R. 4614 ) would have appropriated $193 million for these programs. The omnibus bill figure is $292 million. Tables 4 through 11 provide budget details for Title I (Corps of Engineers), Title II (Department of the Interior), Title III (Department of Energy), and Title IV(independent agencies) for FY2004-FY2005. The President's request for FY2005 for the civil works program of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers was $4.12 billion, a decrease of $460 million from theenacted appropriation for FY2004. Table 4. Energy and Water Development Appropriations Title I: Corps of Engineers ($ millions) Source: Administration budget request for FY2005, H.Rept. 108-554 , and H.Rept. 108-792 . Budget justifications for FY2005 from the Corps of Engineers. Notes: a. Includes an across-the-board rescission of .59% included in the FY2004Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 108-199 , enacted on January 23, 2004. b. This figure reflects amounts provided by the House Appropriations Committee;the Committee showed $35.9 million added by P.L. 108-199 . Other sourcesindicate that the supplemental appropriation was less and that the totalconstruction appropriation was $1731.3. c. This amount includes the Administration's proposed cancellation of $100 million($94 million in construction, $5 million in Mississippi River flood control, $1million in flood control and coastal emergencies) in unobligated FY2004balances for work on 41 projects that are "inconsistent with current policy." d. "Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program." e. The conference committee for FY2004 appropriations removed all funding for theFlood Control and Coastal Emergencies account because the account wasreplenished with $60 million through the Legislative Branch Appropriations Actfor FY2004, P.L. 108-83 . f. Does not include the modified rescission amount of .80% in H.Con.Res. 528 , which would produce a total of $4,667.9 million. The President's FY2005 budget request was similar in many ways to the President's FY2004 request. Again for FY2005, the President's request fundedconstruction projects that could be completed in FY2005 and projects considered bythe Administration to be priorities. The eight priority projects included the NewYork and New Jersey Harbor Deepening project, restoration projects in the FloridaEverglades and the side channels of the Upper Mississippi River system, and projectsto meet environmental requirements in the Columbia River Basin and the MissouriRiver basin. The President's budget also funded three new projects that weredetermined to have high economic and environmental return. Outside of these threeprojects, there were no other new construction starts, because of the Administration'sconcern with the funding needed to complete projects budgeted for construction. Inkeeping with the Administration's approach to reducing the agency's constructionbacklog, the President's budget limited funding for planning to five new projects. The request also focused the operation and maintenance funds for the inlandwaterways and harbors on projects supporting a high volume of traffic. The Corps announced in its budget briefing on February 2, 2004, that it did not budget for the continued renourishment of shoreline storm damage reductionprojects, indicating that it considered these costs as maintenance expenses to beborne by the non-federal project sponsors. This represented a change from theCorps' past involvement with renourishment, often at a 50% federal cost share. Thebudget also generally deemphasized shallow draft harbors and waterways with lowcommercial use. The President requested no funds for studies and "environmental infrastructure" projects in the following non-traditional mission areas: wastewater treatment,irrigation water supply, and municipal and industrial water supply treatment anddistribution. By not seeking funding for these activities, the Administrationreinforced its interest in focusing federal funding on navigation, flood control, stormdamage reduction, and ecosystem restoration projects. H.R. 4818 ( P.L. 108-447 ) increases the Corps' appropriations over FY2004 and above the President's FY2005 request; the exact increase depends onthe size of the rescission. H.R. 4818 ( P.L. 108-447 ) funds someenvironmental infrastructure projects and funds some beach renourishment activities.Furthermore, the bill states that the Corps shall not implement any changes toexisting shoreline protection policies that have not been specifically authorized byCongress. The bill does not fund the new study or construction starts requested bythe President. It does fund some controversial construction projects, including theDallas Floodway Extension and Yazoo Basin projects. According to the conferencereport, Congress provided more funds for the popular Continuing AuthoritiesPrograms than requested by the Administration; the conference report also continuedthe recent trend of identifying specific priority projects for funding under theseprograms. H.R. 4818 ( P.L. 108-447 ) contains some authorization language.