House Democrats ring the alarm on energy cuts
Lawmakers are growing concerned over lack of details on possible sequestration cuts.
Show me the cuts! That's the message coming from 50 pro-clean energy House Democrats, who are growing concerned over the lack of details on possible sequestration cuts to energy and environment programs.
My colleague Amy Harder reports for National Journal Daily on the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, chaired by Reps. Steve Israel and Gerry Connolly.
From Harder's story:
For example, it's assumed that some national parks would be closed, but the Obama administration is not being specific about which ones.
"The lack of specifics is troubling: We don't know what this will mean for our ability to provide clean drinking water, protect people from hazardous air pollutants, and continue creating good-paying American jobs in the renewable-energy industry," said Kara Allen, executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition...
"SEEC members are ready to work with members on both sides of the aisle to find a solution to these indiscriminate across-the-board cuts," Allen added.
But the White House isn't budging. The administration isn't doling out any more details than what's already in a lengthy Office of Management and Budget report.
While that document does have dollars and percentages on broad cuts to programs, it doesn't really lay out what specific things will be cut from programs. And when you're dealing with a budget of, say, $2.2 billion, like that of the National Park Service, a 8.2 percent cut could get implemented in lots of different ways.