On September 21, the Republican Study Committee released a 23-page
report called "Operation Offset" that outlined its recommended
"Budget Options 2005." Among its recommendations are deep cuts in
a number of energy and environmental programs.
First and foremost, the study calls for the elimination of the
federal Energy Star Program, which encourages consumers and
organizations to produce and purchase energy saving items for
their home or business with its label and certification. For
example, if a company's products meet a certain and often
stringent energy efficiency standard, they can place the Energy
Star label on their product.
The report argues that, "some contend the program does not
actually yield any energy savings, and that the labels are too
vague to share any educational information with the consumer."
According to the report, elimination of the Energy Star Program
will save $835 million over ten years ($391 million over five
years). Representatives of the Energy Star Program could not be
contacted for comment.
The Republican Study Committee report also called for the
elimination of the Applied Research for Renewable Energy Sources
program, which funds research and development of renewable sources
of energy, including developing alternative liquid fuels from
biomass.
The study said such research is already subsidized through the tax
code and that "...development of applied energy technology is not
necessarily a proper role for the federal government."
This would save the federal government $4.2 billion over ten years
($2 billion over five years).
The full report can be found at the following link.