President Barack Obama unveiled his proposed fiscal year 2012 budget on Feb. 14, heavily favoring renewable energy technologies and innovation over fossil fuel production. In remarks delivered to the Parkville Middle School and Center for Technology in Baltimore, Obama referenced the administration&rsquo;s &ldquo;win the future&rdquo; campaign and said investing in innovation is an essential part of the budget. &ldquo;Because I&rsquo;m convinced that if we out-build and out-innovate and out-educate, as well as out-hustle the rest of the world, the jobs and industries of our time will take root here in the United States,&rdquo; he said.
The administration, along with officials from the USDA, the U.S. DOE and the U.S. EPA, stressed that while the budget includes uncomfortable cuts, care is being made to continue to support emerging renewable technologies. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the USDA&rsquo;s proposed FY2012 budget cuts discretionary funding by $24 billion, but includes targeted investments for renewable energy and research. &ldquo;We are also focusing our loans to rural electric cooperatives to support the development of clean-burning low-emission fossil fuel facilities and renewable energy deployment,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Developing a nation-wide renewable energy industry will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in rural America, while helping us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reducing risks to our environment.&rdquo; Vilsack said that while the department cut $183 million from its research programs by eliminating earmarks, the agency has proposed increasing funding for its competitive grants programs by 24 percent.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the DOE&rsquo;s $29.5 billion FY2012 budget emphasizes the administration&rsquo;s innovation goals while remaining committed to fiscal responsibility. &ldquo;To lead the world in clean energy, we must act now,&rdquo; Chu said. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t afford not to. Through our investments, we are laying the groundwork for the nation&rsquo;s future prosperity and security. While we are investing in areas that are critical to our future, we are also rooting out programs that aren&rsquo;t needed and making hard choices to tighten our belt.&rdquo;
The DOE&rsquo;s budget increases funding for biomass and biorefinery R&amp;D by 57 percent and provides billions of dollars for nuclear projects, but slashes funding for fossil energy by 45 percent. Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and preferences will save $3.6 billion in FY2012, according to the DOE.
The EPA&rsquo;s proposed budget for FY2012 is $8.97 billion, $1.4 billion less than the FY2010 budget. Administrator Lisa Jackson said while the proposal contains significant cuts, it focuses the agency&rsquo;s resources on the most urgent health and environmental challenges. Among these are the climate change programs, which include the agency&rsquo;s efforts to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Funding allocated for the EPA&rsquo;s climate change programs in FY2012 was increased by $46 million to total $190 million. Funds for these programs include $25 million for states to implement emissions permitting programs and $5 million for the EPA to address GHGs in Clean Air Act permitting activities. The EPA&rsquo;s budget also provides a $27.5 million increase in enforcement and compliance, with emphasis given to increased oversight and inspections at high-risk chemical and oil facilities.
The proposed elimination of oil subsidies has already been a hot-button issue for legislators and immediate reactions from Congressional leaders to the proposed budget indicate that the issue will be hotly contested for some time. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Obama&rsquo;s proposal &ldquo;a huge disappointment&rdquo; and said it does not reflect the seriousness of the country&rsquo;s financial crises. &ldquo;The President has said he wants us to &lsquo;Win the Future.&rsquo;&rdquo; McConnell said. &ldquo;But this budget abdicates the future. It spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.&rdquo; A spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., immediately fired back. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s incomprehensible how Sen. McConnell thinks &lsquo;we don&rsquo;t have the money&rsquo; to invest in education, innovation and infrastructure, but we can waste billions on handouts to oil companies and insurance companies, afford an unworkable flying ray gun that the Pentagon doesn&rsquo;t want, and throw away taxpayer dollars on a giant hole in the desert that Republicans want to fill with dangerous nuclear waste that would endanger Nevada families,&rdquo; he said.

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President Obama's proposed FY2012 budget slashes fossil fuel funding in favor of renewable energy innovations. Obama  said investing in innovation is an essential part of the budget, as he referenced his "win the future" campaign..

Obama budget promotes clean energy, slashes fossil fuel support

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Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

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Obama budget promotes clean energy, slashes fossil fuel support