The White House budget request for fiscal year 2027, released April 3, follows the spirit of the fiscal 2026 budget, with draconian cuts to renewable energy and water programs, along with massive hikes in defense spending and funding for the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. The budget calls for a reduction of more than $73 billion over 2026 enacted levels. Although the budget is limited in specifics, providing primarily top-line numbers, it does highlight the administration’s broader priorities.
The proposed budget calls for a 52% decrease in funds for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, $4.6 billion below 2026-enacted levels, cutting $2.5 billion from the EPA’s clean and drinking water state revolving loan programs alone.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy would see a $4.8 billion increase over fiscal 2026 enacted levels, but most of the funding boost would go toward further developing the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. A portion of the funding would also enable the National Nuclear Security Administration to support the development of next-generation technologies for future nuclear naval systems.
The budget would also repurpose funds established in the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) intended for clean energy, cutting a total of $15.2 billion for renewables, direct-air carbon dioxide capture and other funding the administration describes as “unreliable.” The DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation would receive $1.1 billion.
David Shadburn, legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement: “Instead of propping up expensive, polluting fossil fuels, we should be investing in affordable clean energy, the fastest and cheapest way to tackle skyrocketing energy bills and meet rising energy demand.”
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation would also see cuts, with a reduction in capital investment grants for transit of $486 million, a 29% reduction over enacted levels; and a reduction of $327 million for Amtrak, or 13%.
But while the budget request expresses any administration’s priorities, it is still a request, not an edict. Congress typically modifies, often extensively, any numbers outlined in a White House budget plan. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement, “While the administration proposes a budget, Congress holds the power of the purse.”
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Brad Townsend, vice president of policy and outreach for the non-partisan Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, describes the budget as primarily a “messaging document” to highlight the White House’s priorities.
Townsend’s group is following what will happen with projects that had been planned through the Industrial Demonstrations Program within the former Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which was dissolved in 2025, with more than $3 billion in project funding rescinded. Some of the office’s projects and responsibilities were siphoned off to different departments within the Energy Dept. The Industrial Demonstrations Program was particularly hard-hit, Townsend told ENR. That office has focused on demonstrating the viability of projects and technologies aimed at reducing emissions in some of the industries that are the hardest to decarbonize, such as steel and cement production.
Those cuts are not going unnoticed by potential corporate investors, many of whom will be less willing to take risks in the future, Townsend said, adding, “ At a time when we should be making those investments, we are … closing the tent … instead, and that I think is going to have profound long-term impacts on our economy.”
Source: www.enr.com
