Energy
Federal government direct expenditures into the US energy sector have been on a steady decline since 2010. Direct expenditures are defined as the “transfer of congressionally appropriated funds to recipients by federal agencies.” The construction of renewable energy facilities and low-income energy assistance have dominated direct energy expenditures, accounting for 67% of total direct expenditures in 2010 and 87% in 2016.
Direct expenditures in energy at the USDA plummeted 73.4% between 2010 and 2016. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program had the largest drop among USDA programs, falling from $296 million in 2010 to $10 million in 2016, a 96.6% decline.
The US DoE’s direct expenditures also had a steep fall in that time period, with direct expenditures plunging 91.5% to $304 million in 2016. Initiatives such as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program and the Regional Biomass Energy Programs received funding between 2010 and 2013, but all direct expenditures to those programs had stopped by 2016. Direct expenditures for the State Energy Program also took a steep fall, declining 94.1% in 2016 to $46 million.
The DHHS had a less dramatic fall in regards to direct expenditures in energy, though still significant, dropping 40.0% to $3.4 billion in 2016.
R&D expenditures into energy have also dropped across federal agencies, falling 67.6%, 53.2%, 33.3% and 19.4% at the USDA, DoE, EPA and NSF, respectively, between 2010 and 2016.
