Ranking Member Johnson Introduces Bipartisan ARPA-E Reauthorization
(Washington, DC) – Today, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3681, the ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2017. This bipartisan bill authorizes reasonable growth in funding for ARPA-E through 2022. Increased funding for ARPA-E is consistent with the strong and sustained recommendations of many respected industrial and academic institutions and organizations in recent years. The bill also includes a provision which ensures that sensitive proprietary business information collected by ARPA-E remains protected.
Ranking Member Johnson said, “Today I am very pleased to introduce the bipartisan ARPA-E Reauthorization Act of 2017. Even though the agency is still relatively young, ARPA-E has already demonstrated incredible success in advancing high-risk, high-reward energy technology solutions that neither the public nor the private sector had been willing or able to support in the past. This was highlighted in a Congressionally mandated National Academies review of the agency released in June. Industry leaders like Norm Augustine and Bill Gates have repeatedly called for tripling this agency’s budget given the unique role that it is now playing in our energy innovation pipeline… I hope that all Members will consider supporting this critical investment in our nation’s clean energy future.”
Congressman Ryan Costello (R-PA), Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Congresswoman Mia Love (R-UT) are original cosponsors of the bill.
Rep. Ryan Costello said, “Accelerating American energy innovation requires a strong and sustained commitment to new and transformative research. Reauthorizing ARPA-E is a necessary step towards deploying affordable, efficient, and cleaner energy technologies that will improve the quality of life for all Americans.”
“ARPA-E is a critical program that invests in groundbreaking advanced energy technology and helps American universities and companies lead the world,” said Congresswoman Kaptur, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water. “With this bill, we are forming a bipartisan coalition that is committed to investing in America’s future and not ceding jobs and technological breakthroughs to other countries.”
Congresswoman Mia Love said, “The ARPA-E is an important and cost-effective program that has yielded tangible benefits for the energy sector. I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill that invests in our nation’s advanced energy future.”
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