Why should we trust Chu to pick winners and losers? From the White House:
As part of President Obama’s commitment to winning the future, the Department of Energy will make critical investments in science, research and innovation that will create jobs, grow the economy, and position America to lead the global clean energy economy. Next week, the Administration will unveil its budget for FY 2012, which will include over $8 billion for research, development, and deployment investments in clean energy technology programs.
But while we are making these investments, we are taking responsible steps to cut wasteful spending and reduce expenses.
Fiscal responsibility demands shared sacrifice — it means cutting programs we would not cut in better fiscal times. Some of the tough budget cuts the Department is making in its FY 2012 budget request include:
In the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Department is reducing funding for the hydrogen technology program by more than 41 percent, or almost $70 million, in order to focus on technologies deployable at large scale in the near term.In January, the Department decided to end operation of the Tevatron at Fermi National Laboratory rather than extend it through FY 2014, which will save taxpayers a projected $35 million for FY 2012.The Department is reducing the budget for the Office of Fossil Energy by 45 percent, or $418 million. This includes zeroing out the Fuels Program, the Fuel Cells Program, the Oil and Gas Research and Development Program, and the Unconventional Fossil Technology Program.Additionally, current law provides a number of credits and deductions that are targeted towards certain oil, gas and coal activities. In accordance with the President’s agreement at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels so that the country can transition to a 21st century energy economy, the Administration proposes to repeal a number of tax preferences available for fossil fuels. Repeal of these preferences will save the taxpayer approximately $3.6 billion in FY 2012. The ten-year estimate (FY2012 to FY2021) is $46.2 billion.The FY 2012 budget request closes the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which will save $10.3 million.