Legislative Update: House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations BillApril 2015 |
On April 22, 2015, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations approved its fiscal year (FY) 2016 energy and water development appropriations bill, which provides $95 million for ARC's nonhighway programs. This is the amount recommended in President Obama's proposed FY 2016 federal budget and $5 million more than ARC's FY 2015 funding level. Of the $95 million, $15 million is allocated for the POWER+ Plan (PDF: 58 KB) proposed in the president's budget, and $10 million would continue a program of high-speed broadband deployment in economically distressed counties in Central Appalachia that have been most negatively impacted by the downturn in the coal industry. ARC's regular programs would receive $70 million, as in FY 2015.
Full House consideration of the bill is expected later this spring. The Senate has not yet begun work on its energy and water development appropriations bill.