Press Releases

Today, Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) led a bipartisan letter (11 Republicans, 73 Democrats) to the House Appropriations Committee calling for strong funding for the Department of Energy’s clean energy innovation programs: Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program; Energy Innovation Hubs; and Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs).

The bipartisan letter comes after the Trump Administration FY19 budget proposal again places these programs at risk. Specifically, the Administration proposed zeroing out the ARPA-E program. ARPA-E incentivizes researchers to pursue promising “high-risk, high-reward” energy research into game-changing technologies that can meet our future energy needs. ARPA-E possesses both bipartisan support in Congress and the support of Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, despite delayed funding to ARPA-E allocated projects. The Washington Post reported today: “Energy Secretary Rick Perry last week called out a little-known energy technology incubator as one of the reasons the department ‘has had and is having such a profound impact on American lives.’”

The lawmakers wrote:

“As Members with a strong interest in ensuring our nation’s future energy security, we thank the subcommittee for continuing to fund several key Department of Energy (DOE) research and innovation programs and request that these programs are given high priority as you consider the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. We are specifically writing to support three complementary approaches to tackling the critical energy innovation challenges before us: the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, Energy Innovation Hubs, and Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs).

“America’s innovation history is built on a foundation of robust federal investment in fundamental scientific research. At the same time, the public sector has a deep history of working hand-in-hand with the private sector to bring the fruits of this research to market, address market failures, provide needed expertise, and raise capital for high-payoff, though riskier, projects in which industry would not otherwise invest. Without such partnerships, the stories of the transcontinental railroad, the aviation sector, and biotechnology industries would be dramatically different. As in these past projects, the government has a critical role to play in helping to support and foster the new ideas that will serve as the foundation for the nation’s future energy economy.”

A signed copy of the letter can be found here.