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WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, one of only a handful of engineers in Congress, cheered House passage today of Fiscal Year 2022 budget legislation that features provisions Tonko has long championed that will raise the bar of U.S. energy efficiency, strengthen our national electric vehicle infrastructure and drive pioneering scientific research and innovation.

“If we as a nation do not want to fall behind the rest of the world, we must make bold and visionary investments in our clean energy infrastructure,” Congressman Tonko said. “These strong investments offer huge returns in the form of good-paying jobs and help us achieve a more sustainable, more competitive and more just economy overall. I am proud to stand with my colleagues today to support this budget package that will help us address the climate crisis, drive forward scientific development research and best support our communities.”

Tonko-backed provisions supported in this legislation include:

• $14 billion for transformative investments in clean energy and science to confront the climate crisis and develop clean, affordable, and secure American energy.
• $9.63 billion to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to foster innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness, including funding for climate science and sustainable research, as well as research on artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and many other critical areas.  
• $3.77 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,  which supports research, development, and deployment of wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies. The bill also includes an additional $600 million for DOE’s ARPA-E program for cutting-edge, high-risk, high-reward research projects.
• $300 million for the Electric Vehicle Fund to transform the Federal vehicle fleet to electric and zero emission vehicles.

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