WASHINGTON—Following the release of the Senate Energy and Water appropriations bill, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s top-ranked think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from ITIF Clean Energy Policy Analyst Colin Cunliff:
The Senate appropriations bill would sustain this year’s positive trends in federal investment to support energy research and development. This investment will support new and emerging clean energy technologies that are needed to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. technology developers and manufacturers, improves national energy security, and enhances stewardship of domestic energy resources.
While further budget increases, along with reforms in the design and execution of federal programs, are necessary for the United States to address the daunting global and competitive challenges of the 21st century, the Senate took an important step to move energy policy in the right direction today. Investing in cutting edge science and technology will help position the United States as a global leader in the fast-growing clean energy economy.
ITIF has previously called on Congress to reject the extreme cuts to the Department of Energy’s energy RD&D budget proposed by the Trump administration.
For additional background:
- David M. Hart and Colin Cunliff, “Federal Energy RD&D: Building on Momentum in Fiscal Year 2019,” (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, April 23, 2018).
- David M. Hart and Peter L. Singer, “Manufacturing USA at DOE: Supporting Energy Innovation,” (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, May 16, 2018).
- David M. Hart and William B. Bonvillian, “Policymakers Must Beware of Technology Lock-in for Energy Storage,” (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, April 30, 2018).
- David M. Hart and Michael Kearney, “ARPA-E: Versatile Catalyst for U.S. Energy Innovation” (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, November 15, 2017.