Trump seeks to shift Energy Dept priorities with clean energy cuts

Washington

THE Trump administration's fiscal 2019 budget might never become law, but it's a declaration of intent, and it would reshuffle priorities at the Energy Department, boosting outlays on nuclear security and slashing spending on renewables and energy efficiency.

Overall, the administration is asking Congress for US$30.6 billion for the Energy Department, a 1.3 per cent increase from fiscal 2017. That includes US$1.6 billion added to the department's budget after a last-minute spending deal was reached in Congress last week. The administration wants a 17.5 per cent increase for the department's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which safeguards the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons. The NNSA makes up nearly half the department's budget, and under the 2019 proposal, it would get US$15.1 billion, up from US$12.8 billion in fiscal 2017.