Congressional Focus

• Congressional Focus: The President’s Budget Request arrives on Capitol Hill...

• Cyber Security: CISPA and other cyber bills pass the House...

• Municipal Bonds: Public Power, Senators come out swinging...

• Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency: Shaheen-Portman gets reintroduced...

• Personnel: Moniz clears one hurdle but faces a hold in the full Senate as Chu officially steps down...

On April 10, President Obama presented his budget to Congress.  Many have suggested the Budget is "dead on arrival," but it provides important insight into the Administration’s priorities. The following are selected highlights of interest to NEPPA:

• Tax: The budget includes a now-familiar "28% cap" on upper-income earners’     tax deductions.  It also proposes creating taxable America Fast Forward (AFF) Bonds.  The budget would also make permanent the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for qualified renewable energy projects.

• Energy: The Budget would allocate $28.4 billion to the Department of Energy (DOE), an 8% boost over 2012 levels.  It includes $200 million in one-time funding for "Race to the Top" performance-based awards to support states that implement effective policies to cut energy waste and modernize the grid.  

• Cybersecurity: The Budget calls for $44 million in new money for a federal cybersecurity information sharing program.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would receive a $131 million increase to assist in meeting its directives under the Executive order on cyber security.