Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The House passed its energy and water spending bill this afternoon, inching it another step closer to funding the government for fiscal 2024.
Why it matters: Republicans are using this bill to slash key renewable energy programs and cut more than $5 billion from the IRA. That's a tough starting point in a negotiation with Senate Democrats.
Driving the news: The bill passed on a 210-199 vote.
- The bill, the fifth spending measure to win House approval, would provide a slight boost to overall Energy Department spending, up to roughly $48 billion — mostly for defense-related programs.
- But it would massively chop budgets at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
- The rule, passed by the House early this month before the speaker fight, also slashed an additional $1 billion from EERE, leaving it at $2 billion — almost $1.5 billion below fiscal 2023 levels.
Between the lines: It's the first move for new Speaker Mike Johnson, who's hoping to finish up the individual spending bills and move another CR come Nov. 17.
Zoom in: Lawmakers approved a series of GOP amendments to block Biden administration energy policies.
- They include provisions to halt DOE's Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap and energy efficiency standards and to curb the use of the social cost of greenhouse gases.
- That's on top of a series of partisan policy riders already in the base bill. That stuff isn't likely to fly with Senate Democrats, but it'll be a negotiating wedge.
- The House also signed off on an amendment from Rep. Joe Neguse to give an additional $1 million to the Bureau of Reclamation for Colorado River programs.
What we're watching: The Senate version is, unsurprisingly, more expensive.
- The GOP also really wants to cut whatever they can from the IRA (more on that here).
- We expect the energy-water bill to be a sticking point — if they ever get around to negotiating an omnibus.
