House and Senate Advance Legislation on Energy Innovation
Washington, D.C. – The members of the American Energy Innovation Council today issued the following statement on energy legislation being considered in Congress:
“Since 2010, the American Energy Innovation Council has called for legislators to support energy innovation as an engine for economic growth. This connection, highlighted in numerous case studies, is critical to our competitiveness as both consumers and producers in the rapidly growing global energy market. Through passage of their respective energy bills, the House and Senate have taken a number of steps to bolster American energy innovation. We recognize there are significant issues to be resolved between the bills but there are numerous provisions in each that AEIC hopes will become law.
“The Senate bill contains strong authorization levels for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), consistent with AEIC’s recommendation to significantly increase funding for this key agency. ARPA-E plays a key role in supporting early stage, transformative technologies across the valley of death and strong bipartisan support reflects its contributions to American competitiveness. Both bills prioritize nuclear research, supporting American entrepreneurs working on breakthrough technologies—in addition to providing security and non-proliferation benefits. Additionally, the House bill includes H.R.1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act—which will improve our ability to bring new technologies out of our national labs and into the marketplace. Importantly, both bills would reauthorize energy-provisions of America COMPETES—the watershed legislation that affirmed the importance of American competitiveness in science and technology. The Senate bill maintains support for ARPA-E while the House proposal emphasizes programs within the Office of Science. AEIC supports both programs and believes their inclusion is a testament to the strong support among members in both chambers for maintaining America’s competitive advantage.
“AEIC continues to call on legislators to support energy innovation and invest in American ingenuity by sending provisions to the president’s desk that advance American leadership in this critical area.”
CONTACT
Jordan LaPier
Press Secretary
(202) 379-1630
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