Fact Sheet | Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal

The Obama administration released its budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2012 on February 14, 2011, and many of the energy goals contained in President Obama’s State of the Union speech a month earlier were reflected in the proposal. In his speech, Obama stressed the need to make investments in science, research, and innovation as a way to create jobs, grow the economy and position the country to lead in clean technology development. Key program areas in the budget that embody the administration’s goals are the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office in the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Agriculture (USDA) bioenergy programs, sustainable and energy-efficient housing programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), rail and transit programs within the Department of Transportation (DOT), and various climate protection and greenhouse gas programs in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has yet to resolve funding levels for FY 2011, which ends on September 30, 2011. After adjourning before the November mid-term elections without completing action on individual program funding (appropriations), the 111th Congress returned for a lame duck session in late 2010 and approved a short-term “Continuing Resolution” to fund the government at FY 2010 levels through March 4, 2011. In February 2011, the House Appropriations Committee released a budget plan (H.R. 1) for the remainder of FY 2011, which would dramatically reduce funding for DOE’s Science, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and loan guarantee programs. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said this proposed FY 2011 Continuing Resolution “represents the largest reduction in non-security discretionary spending in the history of the nation.” If passed, this legislation could significantly affect current levels of energy efficiency and renewable energy program activity.

This fact sheet outlines the Obama administration’s FY 2012 budget request for several key energy programs and compares them to the administration’s estimated funding levels for FY 2011 as well as actual appropriations for FY 2010.

Download the full fact sheet in PDF format.