Gop Budget Eliminates Energy Department But Rep. Crapo Says It Won’t Be So Simple To Make An Entire Department Disappear

A U.S. House committee has voted to eliminate the Department of Energy, but Rep. Michael Crapo says there is plenty of time to debate the issue.

“This is the first inning,” the Republican lawmaker said Thursday morning, 11 hours after the House Budget Committee voted on a plan that would mothball Energy, Education and Commerce departments.

Crapo’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

The department accounts for about 14,000 jobs nationwide, and a $17.5 billion budget this year.

The committee voted for the process that would save more than $9 billion over seven years.

Those savings represent only a small piece of a blueprint to slash some $1.4 trillion in federal spending over seven years, and bring the budget into balance for the first time since 1969.

But the process is not that simple, Crapo said. Three House committees have a chance to look at the specifics of the budget plan.

Meanwhile, the proposal before the Senate Budget Committee would only terminate Commerce.

The House budget plan is being crafted by Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio.

In the past, Kasich had supported research budgets for the Integral Fast Reactor project at the INEL. As recently as April, Crapo expected him to draw up a budget that would cut but not completely eliminate the Energy Department.

Even if Congress does, its nuclear waste management and research work would have to be turned over to another federal agency.

“You can’t disassemble a federal department … and not put those responsibilities someplace else,” Crapo spokeswoman Susan Wheeler said.