DOE/OIT funding restored

AIChExtra readers may recall AIChE's efforts in communicating to Congress the importance of sustaining federal funding for programs such as Department of Energy/Office of Industrial Technology (DOE/OIT). These programs are essential for sustaining partnerships among the government, industry, and academia,

Many AIChE members were concerned after the President released his budget in April, which cut DOE/OIT programs up to one third from FY2001. However, when House and Senate Appropriations Committees released their reports on recommendations for funding for the DOE/OIT for FY2002, both committees recommended restoring funding originally cut by the president's first budget proposal. Moreover, the House recommended an additional $185M for energy conservation, while the Senate recommended $115M (these increases will be reconciled during House Senate Conference meetings later this year).

The House and Senate agreed on the amount of increase for industry sector research and included $26.2M for industries of the future programs. A specific recommendation was made to provide an additional $7M for chemicals, $6M for technical assistance/best practices, and $21M for enabling technology. Other plans included restoring $4M for the efficiency sciences institute and $1M for combustion systems/boiler research and $ 10M for industrial gasification.

AIChE is pleased with the positive recommendations from Congress. "I'm glad Congress has responded favorably to the information we and the engineering and science community have communicated to Congress," said AIChE Government Relations Committee Chair Dale Keairns.

AIChE and DOE/OIT have entered into an Allied Partnership Program, to promote energy efficiency tools and best practices. AIChE is the first professional organization to participate in this extensive outreach program. In addition, AIChE's Center for Waste Reduction Technology has a history of collaboration with DOE/OIT in developing and calculating sustainability metrics for major chemical processes. This work was recently expanded by developing a methodology for determining energy performance levels for the US chemical industry.

For more information on AIChE government relations, visit:

http://www.aiche.org/government.