Energy and water bill slashed

House Republicans outlined a pared-back energy and water budget Monday that would cut as much as $873 million from renewable energy programs — on top of what was cut already in the March sequester. The cumulative impact is a nearly 50 percent reduction from what Congress had approved only months ago, and the numbers dramatize the steady beating that President Barack Obama is taking in terms of funding for his domestic initiatives. The $30.4 billion bill is the fifth of the 12 annual spending bills to begin moving through the House Appropriations Committee, and at each step, the process is expected to get bleaker for the president. Last week, the panel was forced to make cuts from food aid and nutrition programs to meet its targets for the Agriculture Department budget. The bill now seeks to protect the Energy Department’s core science programs and defense-related spending for nuclear weapons. But that only leaves renewable energy programs that more vulnerable...more