Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal

The Obama administration's FY 2012 budget proposal emphasizes investments in clean technology, energy efficiency, and renewable energy to drive economic growth. Key funding increases are proposed for the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office, bioenergy RDD&D, and transportation infrastructure, while funding for fossil energy and the EPA's overall budget is reduced. The proposal also introduces new initiatives such as the Better Buildings Initiative and a National Infrastructure Bank.

• The Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE/RE) programs were requested to receive $3.2 billion for FY 2012, representing a 44 percent increase over FY 2010 appropriations. Within this office, the largest requested increases from FY 2010 appropriations were for Industrial Technologies (239 percent), Building Technologies (115 percent), and Geothermal programs (136 percent).
• The FY 2012 budget proposal includes significant funding cuts for fossil energy, with a requested decrease of $417 million (44 percent below FY 2010 appropriations). This is primarily driven by cuts to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which decreased by $122 million (50 percent below FY 2010 appropriations), and Fossil Energy Research and Development, which decreased by $206 million (31 percent below FY 2010 appropriations).
• Total investment in bioenergy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) is proposed to increase by approximately 16 percent compared to FY 2011 estimates. The DOE's Biomass Program is expected to expand biopower RDD&D and advanced biofuels work, while the USDA's Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) will prioritize payments for establishing new bioenergy crops.
• The administration proposed a total budget of $470.7 million for DOE Building Technologies Programs, a 115 percent increase over FY 2010. This includes $100 million for competitive loan guarantees for the Better Buildings Initiative, which aims to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings by 20 percent by 2020.
• The Department of Transportation (DOT) budget request of $129 billion represents a 66 percent increase over FY 2010. Key components include a $50 billion boost for maintenance and infrastructure, $4 billion for a new Livable Communities and Transit Expansion program, $4 billion for a Rail Network Development Program for high speed rail, and $30 billion over six years for a new National Infrastructure Bank to leverage private capital.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget request of $8.9 billion is a 13 percent decrease from FY 2010 appropriations. Despite the overall cut, the budget includes $30 million for GHG Permitting under the Clean Air Act and $10.1 million to assist states with carbon capture and sequestration.
• Other agency requests include $72.9 million for the Department of Interior's New Energy Frontier strategy to increase renewable energy capacity on Interior lands by 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2012, and $60 million from the Department of Labor for the Green Jobs Innovation Fund.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2011). Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal. https://www.eesi.org/files/fy12_budget_factsheet.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal. 2011. https://www.eesi.org/files/fy12_budget_factsheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal |date=February 2011 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/fy12_budget_factsheet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2011obama, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Obama Administration FY 2012 Budget Proposal}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/fy12_budget_factsheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }