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Every year, the President submits a budget request to Congress, but how much attention does Congress pay to those requests? In this episode, we compare the Trump administration requests to the amounts actually provided by Congress for fiscal year 2018. Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD062: The Farm Bill Additional Reading Report: Feds to give $1.5 million for Mississippi town's gas line, MyPlainview, September 4, 2018. Article: Federal grant aims to build drone industry near Del. River & Bay's NJ airport, Delaware Business Now, September 4, 2018. Community Bulletin: U.S. Department of Commerce awards $2 million for workforce training in Sylva, Mauntain Xpress, September 4, 2018. Article: How rising inequality has widened the justice gap by Robert H. Frank, The New York Times, August 31, 2018. Report: Agency gets $3.6M for affordable housing in NM by ABQJournal News Staff, Albuquerque Journal, August 30th, 2018. Report: BGSU helps get $1 million grant for Delta water improvements by BGSU Marketing and Communications, Sentinel-Tribune, August 29, 2018. Report: Agriculture department will pay $4.7 billion to farmers hit in trade war by Bill Chappell, NPR, August 28, 2018. Ranking: The 25 richest American families, ranked by Hillary Hoffower, Business Insider, July 28, 2018. Article: Got drones that can man the border? The DHS may have an opportunity for you. by Robert J. Terry, Washington Business Journal, May 4, 2018. Report: DHS is putting the finishing touches on a new personnel system for its cyber workforce by Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Radio, March 8, 2018. Article: Michigan gambled on charter schools. Its children lost. by Mark Binelli, The New York Times, September 5, 2017. Article: CDFIs rack up colossal returns for the American people by Anthony Price, New York Business Journal, April 27, 2017. Article: If Trump cuts this little-known federal program, it will gut low-income communities by Eillie Anzilotti, Fast Company, March 16, 2017. Article: A sobering look at what Betsy DeVos did to education in Michigan - and what she might do as secretary of education by Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post, December 8, 2016. Article: Drones, so useful in war, may be too costly for border duty, by Ron Nixon, The New York Times, November 2, 2016. Report: DHS: 'We're not looking for the 30-year-career employee' by Nicole Ogrysko, Federal News Radio, July 5, 2016. Report: Do the employment requirements for eligibility apply to everyone? [Food Stamps], Eligibility.com, February 6, 2016. Report: OPM's Bailey to take on DHS' morale, engagement challenges by Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, January 6, 2016. Report: OPM OKs 1,000 cyber positions at DHS by Meredith Somers, Federal News Radio, November 10, 2015. Article: Teenage stowaway said to survive 2,300-mile flight to Hawaii in the wheel well of jet by Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post, April 21, 2014. Report: Walmart workers cost taxpayers $6.2 billion in public assistance by Clare O'Connor, Forbes, April 15, 2014. Resources About Page: CDFI Fund American Council on Education: A brief guide to the federal budget and appropriations process The American Presidency Project: Franklin D. Roosevelt Analysis: An analysis of the President's 2018 budget, Congressional Budget Office, July 13, 2017. Aviation Security International Info: Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems for Airports, June 10, 2014. Congress.gov Resources: Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018 Congressional Research Service: The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction Congressional Research Service: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2018 EDA.gov: U.S. Economic Development Administration FedBizOpps.gov: Robotic Aircraft Sensor Program (RASP) - Borders (B) Medicaid.gov Info: Eligibility National & Community Service Info: What is Americorps? Office of Community Service Programs: Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Programs Report: Nutrition Assistance Programs Repost May 2018 TSA Info: Screening Partnership Program U.S. Department of Labor Info: Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Budget Outline Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Programs School breakfast program equipment grants Trump administration requested to eliminate the grants Congress increased funding by 20%, to a total of $30 million Total for all Child Nutrition Programs Trump administration requested a 6% increase Congress increased the budget by a little less than Trump wanted to a total of $24.2 billion Food Stamps: Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women (SNAP) Trump administration requested a 6.5% cut, or almost $5 billion Congress cut by a little under 6% for a total of a little over $74 billion Foreign Food Assistance Trump administration requested an almost 90% cut Congress increased the budget by almost 8%, to a total of a little over $2 billion Food and Drug Administration Trump administration requested to change how the FDA is funded Trump administration requested that the FDA’s tax money cut by 34% but then wanted to make up the almost $1 billion shortfall and add funding by increasing fees on drug producers. All of these fees are paid by the companies in order to fund the expedited FDA approval process for their products: Medical devices and drugs for humans: Trump administration requested a 67% increase in prescription drug user fees Congress increased by 21% Trump administration requested a 90% increase in generic drug user fees Congress increased by 53% Trump administration requested an almost 350% increase in medical device user fees Congress increased by 53% Animal drugs: Trump administration requested an over 300% increase in animal drug user fees Congress decreased by 23% Trump administration requested a 163% increase in animal generic drug user fees Congress decreased by 17% Tobacco fees Trump administration requested an almost 6% increase in fees Congress enacted Trump’s request Crop Insurance Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Trump administration requested an about 5% cut, or $422 million Congress increased the budget by about 3%, to a total of almost $9 billion Commodity Credit Corporation Fund Trump administration requested to cut “Reimbursement for net realized losses” by almost 18%, an almost $4 billion cut Congress cut it more, by 33%, or $7 billion, to a total of $14.3 billion Department of Commerce Total funding: $11.1 billion Economic Development Administration Trump administration requested an 89% cut Congress increased the budget by 9%, to a total of a little over $300 million Minority Business Development Administration Trump administration requested an 82% cut Congress increased the budget by about 15% to a total of $39 million Department of Justice Total funding: $30.3 billion Legal Services Corporation Trump administration requested a 91% cut Congress increased its funding by 6%, to a total of $410 million State and local law enforcement assistance Trump administration requested an over 30% cut Congress increased funding by over 30%, to a total of over $1.6 billion Juvenile justice programs Trump administration requested a 44% cut Congress increased the funding by over 14% to about $280 million Science Total funding: $28.5 billion National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Trump administration requested a 16% cut Congress increased the funding by 4%, to a total of almost $6 billion National Science Foundation Trump administration requested an 11% cut Congress increased their budget by 4%, to a total of $7.7 billion Department of Defense Total funding: $647.4 billion Total Funding Trump administration requested a 6% funding increase Congress increased by over 10%, by more than $61 billion, to a total of over $647 billion Global War on Terror Funding Total funding Trump administration requested a 5% funding increase Congress increased funding just slightly more than Trump’s request, to a total of over $65 billion War on Terror "Space procurement” A new category requested by the Trump administration, Congress provided the over $2.2 million request. War on Terror National Guard and Reserve Equipment Trump administration requested to eliminate all $750 million in funding Congress almost doubled the National Guard’s War on Terror equipment fund to $1.3 billion. War on Terror "Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative” Trump administration requested to eliminate all $150 million in funding Congress increased the funding by a third to $200 million War on Terror Afghanistan Security Forces Fund Trump administration requested to increase funding by 16% Congress increased funding by over 9%, to a total of over $4.6 billion War on Terror Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund Trump administration requested to increase by 83% Congress increased funding by Trump’s exact request, to a total of over $1.7 billion Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Trump administration requested a 14% increase, by more than $10 billion Congress increased funding by 22%, to a total of over $88 billion Procurement Total Trump administration requested a 5% increase Congress increased funding by over 23%, to a total of $133.8 billion Army aircraft Trump administration requested a 9% cut Congress increased the budget by 21%, to $5.5 billion Navy aircraft Trump administration requested a 7% cut worth over $1 billion Congress increased funding by almost 24%, by almost $4 billion, to a total of almost $20 billion Navy shipbuilding Trump administration requested a 3.5% cut Congress increased the budget by 13% to a total of $23.8 billion Army weapons and combat vehicles Trump administration requested a 8% increase Congress almost doubled the funding, to a total of almost $4.4 billion Air force aircraft Trump administration requested an 8% increase Congress decided to increase the budget by almost 30%, to a total of $18.5 billion Military Construction and Veterans Defense Construction: $11 billion Department of Veterans Affairs: $185 billion Grand total: $205.8 billion "Overseas Contingency Operations" Navy Trump administration requested Navy OCO funding be eliminated Congress cut funding by 87%, to a total of $13 million Army Trump administration requested $124 million, up from $0 in 2017 Congress provided 5% more than the request, a total of over $130 million Air Force Trump administration requested funding to double Congress increased funding by 164%, to a total of over $275 million Reserve funding for every branch was eliminated Total Trump administration requested a 7% increase Congress increased funding by 8%, to a total of $750 million European Deterrence / Reassurance Initiative Army Trump administration requested a 16% cut Congress granted the Trump administration’s request for almost $16 million Navy Trump administration requested a 13% cut Congress cut funding by 7%, to a total of almost $20 million Air Force Trump administration requested a 300% increase Congress granted the Trump administration’s request for over $270 million Total Congress increased funding by 153%, to a total of over $306 million Military Construction Trump administration requested a 40% increase Congress provided a 42% increase, to a total of over $11 billion Veterans Administration Medical and prosthetic research Trump administration requested a 5% cut Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $722 million Veterans Administration Total: Mandatory and Discretionary Trump administration requested a 3% increase Congress provided 4.5% increase, to a total of over $185 billion Department of Energy Total funding: $34.5 billion Energy Programs Sustainable Transportation Trump administration requested a 70% cut Congress increased funding by 10%, to a total of $674 million Energy Efficiency Trump administration requested a 70% cut, including the complete elimination of weatherization programs and energy program grants to the states. Congress increased funding by 13%m to a total of $858 million Renewable Energy Trump administration requested a 70% cut Congress increased funding by 15%, to a total of $519 million Solar energy: $241 million Water power: $105 million Wind energy: $92 million Geothermal technologies: $81 million Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Total Trump administration requested almost a 70% cut Congress increased funding by 11%, to a total of over $2.3 billion Fossil Energy: Research and Development Trump administration requested a 58% cut Congress increased funding by 9%, to a total of $726 million Nuclear Energy: Research and Development Trump administration requested to cut funding almost in half Congress increased funding by about 20%, to a total of $669 million Coal Research, including Carbon Capture and Storage Trump administration requested a 73% cut Congress increased funding by 14%, to a total of over $481 million Fusion Energy Sciences: Research Trump administration requested a 25% cut Congress increased funding by 25%, to a total of over $410 million Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Transmission Reliability Trump administration requested a 64% cut Congress increased funding by 8%, to a total of $39 million Resilient distribution systems Trump administration requested an 80% cut Congress cut funding by 25%, to a total of $38 million Energy Storage Trump administration requested a 75% cut Congress increased funding by 30%, to a total of $41 million Total Trump requested research be cut almost in half Congress increased funding by almost 8%, to a total of $248 million Department of the Treasury Total funding: $727 million Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Trump administration requested a 94% cut Congress increased funding by less than 1%, to a even total of $250 million Federal Election Commission Trump administration requested a 10% cut Congress granted his exact request, for a total of about $71 million Small Business Administration: Entrepreneurial Development Program Trump administration requested a 22% cut Congress increased funding by less than 1%, to a total of $247 million Department of Homeland Security Total funding: $59.3 billion DHS Management: Operations and Support Trump administration requested to increase management budgets over 16% Congress increased their budgets by almost 19% Chief Financial Officer: 12% increase Chief Readiness Support Officer: 31% increase Chief Human Capital Officer: 82% increase Cybersecurity Trump administration requested a 19% cut Congress increased by 21%, to a total of $362 million DHS Intelligence Trump administration requested a 4% cut Congress cut funding by 6%, to a total of almost $246 million Note: Congress instructed DHS to continue increasing field personnel to State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers that provide outreach to “critical infrastructure owners and operators” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Total funding: $16.3 billion Border Patrol Operations Border Patrol Assets and Support Trump administration requested an increase of 17% Congress increased funding by 9%, to a total of $625 million Border Patrol Office of Training and Development Trump administration requested an increase of 43% Congress increased funding by 19%, to a total of $64 million Total Border Patrol Operations Trump administration requested an increase of 4.5% Congress increased funding by a little over 1%, to a total of $4.4 billion Procurement, Construction, and Improvement Trump administration requested an increase of 167% Congress increased funding by 196%, almost double, to a total of over $2.2 billion Note: "CBP is directed to work with federal and industry partners to evaluate the potential use of commercially developed, space-based technologies to provide persistent, real-time border surveillance...” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Total funding: $7.4 billion Enforcement and Removal Operations Custody Operations Trump administration requested a 33% increase Congress increased funding by 14%, to a total of over $3 billion Criminal Alien Program Trump administration requested a 32% increase Congress increased funding by 2%, to a total of $319 million Transportation and Removal Program Trump administration requested a 36% increase Congress increased funding by 4%, to a total of $369 million Alternatives to Detention Trump administration requested a 2% cut Congress increased funding by 2%, to a total of $187 million Total Funding for Enforcement and Removal Operations Trump administration requested a 31% increase Congress increased funding by 11%, to a total of $4.1 billion Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Total funding: $7.8 billion Salaries and Benefits Trump administration requested an almost 3% cut Congress increased the funding by 0.2%, to a total of $3.2 billion Training Trump administration requested a 2.5% cut Congress granted the Trump administration’s request, cutting funding to a total of $233 million Screening Technology Maintenance Trump administration requested a 36% increase Congress increased funding by 40%, to a total of $398 million Note: Funding increase is aimed at implementation of a plan “to analyze and test perimeter intrusion detection and deterrence technologies” Aviation Screening Infrastructure Checkpoint Support Trump administration requested a 96% cut Congress cut funding by 39%, to a total of $68 million Note: the funding increases are meant to speed up the purchase of new x-ray equipment Checked Baggage Trump administration requested a 44% cut Congress increased funding by 41%, to a total of $83 million Screening Partnership Program Trump administration requested a 1% cut Congress increased funding by over 5%, to a total of $185 million Airport Management Trump administration requested a 12% increase Congress increased funding by 13%, to a total of $646 million Aviation Regulation Trump administration requested a 21% cut Congress barely increased funding to $218 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Total funding: $12.5 billion Preparedness and Protection Trump administration requested a 10% cut Congress granted the Trump administration’s request, cutting funding to a total of $132 million Operations Trump administration requested a 3% cut Congress cut funding by about 1.5%, to a total of a little over $1 billion Emergency Disaster Relief Funds for 2017 disasters $23.5 billion is appropriated in this law Grants State Homeland Security grant Trump administration requested a 25% cut Congress increased funding by 8%, tot a total of $507 million Public Transportation Security Assistance Trump administration requested a 52% cut Congress maintained funding at $100 million Port Security Trump administration requested a 52% cut Congress maintained funding at $100 million Emergency Management Performance Trump administration requested a 20% cut Congress maintained funding at $350 million National Predisaster Mitigation Fund Trump administration requested a 61% cut Congress increased funding by 149%, to a total of $249 million Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress increased funding by 48%, to a total of $262 million Emergency Food and Shelter Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress maintained funding at $120 million Total FEMA funding Trump administration requested a 7% cut Congress increased funding by 8%, to a total of $12.5 billion Department of the Interior Total funding: $13.1 billion Bureau of Land Management Wildlife and Fisheries Trump administration requested a 25% cut Congress maintained funding at $103 million Endangered species Trump administration requested a 6% cut Congress maintained funding at $22 million Abandoned land mines Trump administration requested a 55% cut Congress maintained funding at $20 million Hazardous materials management Trump administration requested a 33% cut Congress maintained funding at $15 million Recreation management Trump administration requested a 12% cut Congress increased funding by 1%, to a total of $73 million Oil and Gas management Trump administration requested a 12% increase Congress increased funding by 27%, to a total of $86 million Coal management Trump administration requested a 90% increase Congress provided a 10% increase, to a total of $12 million Renewable energy Trump administration requested a 45% cut Congress cut funding by about 2%, to a total of $28 million U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Trump administration requested to cut every single category, an overall 14% cut Congress increased the funding 5%, to a total of $1.6 billion National Park Service Trump administration requested a 13% cut Congress increased funding by 9%, to a total of $3.2 billion USGS Natural Hazards Earthquake hazards Trump administration requested a 20% cut Congress increased funding by 30%, to a total of $83 million Volcano hazards Trump administration requested a 21% cut Congress increased funding by 52%, to a total of $43 million Water resources National Water Quality Trump administration requested an 18% cut Congress maintained funding at $90 million Water availability science Trump administration requested a 33% cut Congress increased funding by 2%, to a total of $46 million Overall Trump administration requested a 19% cut Congress increased funding by almost 1%, to a total of $218 million Offshore Safety and Environmental Enforcement Environmental enforcement Trump administration requested a 47% cut Congress granted the Trump administration’s request, cutting funding to a total of only $4.4 million Wildland Fire Management Trump administration requested a 7% cut Congress barely increased the funding, to a total of $948 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science and Technology Air and energy Trump administration requested a 67% cut Congress maintained funding at $92 million Safe and sustainable water resources Trump administration requested a 36% cut Congress maintained funding at $106 million Clean Air Trump administration requested a 48% cut Congress maintained funding at $273 million Enforcement Trump administration requested a 19% cut Congress maintained funding at $240 million Geographic programs Trump administration requested all of them eliminated. Congress increased funding by 3%, to a total of $47 million Indoor air and radiation Trump administration requested a 93% cut Congress maintained funding at $28 million Pesticide licensing Trump administration requested a 17% cut Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $109 million Toxic risk review and prevention Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress increased funding by 4%, to a total of $109 million National estuary program / Coastal waterways Trump administration requested that the programs be eliminated Congress maintained funding at $27 million Human Health Protection Trump administration requested a 18% cut Congress maintained funding at $98 million Water quality protection Trump administration requested a 17% cut Congress maintained funding at $210 million Enforcement of the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trump administration requested a 40% cut Congress maintained funding at $166 million Superfund clean up Trump administration requested a 28% cut Congress increased funding by half a percent, to a total of $721 million Grants Pollution control Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress maintained funding at $230 million State and local air quality management Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress maintained funding at $228 million Public water system supervision Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress maintained funding at $102 million Underground injection control (UIC) Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress maintained funding at $10 million Pesticides enforcement Trump administration requested a 40% cut Congress maintained funding at $18 million Beaches protection Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress maintained funding at under $10 million Lead Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress maintained funding at $14 million Pollution prevention Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress maintained funding at $5 million Total grant funding Trump administration requested a 44% cut Congress increased funding by 1%, to a total of just over $1 billion Department of Labor Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker programs Trump administration requested that the program be eliminated Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $87 million Dislocated Worker Assistance National Reserve Trump administration requested a 47% cut Congress maintained the funding at $220 million Labor Dept. Management: Salaries and Expenses Women’s Bureau Trump administration requested a 75% cut Congress increased funding by 8%, to a total of $13 million International Labor Affairs Trump administration requested a 75% cut Congress maintained the funding at $86 million Chief Financial Officer Trump administration requested a 93% increase Congress Congress increased funding by 87%, to a total of $10.4 million Total Trump administration requested an 18% cut Congress slightly increased funding, to a total of $13.7 billion Department of Health and Human Services Total funding: $843 billion Training for diversity Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 6%, to a total of $88 million Training in primary care medicine Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 26%, to a total of $49 million Dentist training Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 11%, to a total of $40 million Community health eduction centers Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 27%, to a total of $38 million Mental and Behavior health Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 270%, to a total of $37 million Nursing programs Trump administration requested a 64% cut Congress increased funding by 9%, to a total of $250 million Maternal and Child Health Block Grants Trump administration requested a 4% increase Congress increased funding by 1.5% to over $650 million Healthy Start Trump administration requested a 24% increase Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $110 million Programs the Trump administration requested eliminated: Sickle Cell Anemia Demonstration Program Autism and other developmental disorders Heritable disorders Universal newborn hearing screening Emergency medical services for children Total Trump administration requested an 8% cut Congress increased funding by 3, including funding for two new programs: Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Birth defects, developmental disabilities Trump administration requested a 27% cut Congress increased funding by 2%, to a total of $140 million Rural Health Trump administration requested an 82% cut Congress increased funding by 86%, to a total of over $290 million Centers for Disease Control Public Health Preparedness and Response Trump administration requested an almost 10% cut Congress increased funding by 3%, to a total of $1.45 billion CDC Total Trump administration requested a 20% cut Congress increased funding by 14%, to a total of over $7.2 billion National Institutes of Health Institutes that the Trump administration requested to eliminate: National Cancer Institute National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Eye Institute National Institute on Aging National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institute on Deafness National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute of Mental Health National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities The only thing he wanted to increase was a 40% increase to the “NIH Innovation Account, CURES Act2/“ (which Congress granted) and he wanted to create a new “National Institute for Research on Safety and Quality”, a request that Congress ignored. Total: National Institute of Health Trump administration requested a 22% cut Congress increased funding by about 8%, to a total of about $3 billion Medicaid grants Trump requested and received an 8% increase, up to $284 billion Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Trump administration requested an 8% increase Congress increased funding by a little more than requested, to a total of over $747 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Trump administration requested to eliminate the $3.3 billion program Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $3.6 billion Refugee and Entrant Assistance Unaccompanied Minors Trump administration requested to maintain funding Congress increased funding by 37%, to a total of $1.3 billion Total Trump administration requested a 13% cut Congress increased funding by 11%, to a total of $1.8 billion Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) Children and Families Services Program Trump administration requested to eliminate the program Congress maintained funding at $1.7 billion Programs for Children, Youth, and Families Preschool Development Grants Trump administration requested to eliminate the program Congress maintained funding at $250 million Total Trump administration requested a 9% cut Congress increased funding by 6%, to a total of over $12 billion Department of Education Total funding: $74 billion School Improvement Program Trump administration requested an 84% cut Congress increased funding by 17%, to a total of over $5 billion Charter School Grants Trump administration requested a 46% increase Congress increased funding by 17%, to a total of $400 million Student Financial Assistance Trump administration requested a 5% cut Congress increased funding by 1%, to a total of $24.4 billion International Education and Foreign Language programs Trump administration requested to eliminate all programs - domestic and overseas Congress maintained funding at $72 million Total Trump administration requested a 7% cut Congress increased funding by 3%, to a total of $74 billion Institute of Museum and Library Services Trump administration requested a 90% cut Congress increased funding by 4%, to a total of $240 million Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps grants Trump administration requested a 99% cut Congress increased funding by 7%, to a total of $412 million Corporation for Public Broadcasting Trump administration requested an over 99% cut Congress maintained the funding at $445 million Department of State Total funding: $54.1 billion International Organizations Total Trump administration requested a 35% cut Congress cut funding by 2%, to a total of $1.7 billion Asia Foundation Trump administration requested to eliminate the program Congress maintained funding at $17 million East-West Center Trump administration requested to eliminate the program Congress maintained funding at $17 million US Institute of Peace Trump administration requested a 49% cut Congress maintained funding at $38 million National Endowment for Democracy Trump administration requested a 40% cut Congress maintained funding at $170 million Democracy Fund Trump administration requested to eliminate the fund Congress increased funding 2%, to a total of $215 million “Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia” Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased the funding by 157%, to a total of $750 million “Independent Agencies” Inter-American Foundation Trump administration requested an 80% cut Congress maintained funding at $22.5 million US African Development Foundation Trump administration requested a 70% cut Congress maintained funding at $30 million “International Security Assistance” Drug War Trump administration requested a 22% cut Congress increased funding 7%, to a total of $950 million Anti-terrorism and nonproliferation Trump administration requested a 37% cut Congress increased funding by 30%, to a total of $655 million Peacekeeping operations Trump administration requested a 10% cut Congress increased by 57%, to a total of $212 million Foreign Military Financing Program Congress provided: Israel: $3.1 billion Egypt: $1.3 billion Other: $1.2 billion International Financial Institutions World Bank Group Trump administration requested an over 12% cut Congress cut funding by 10%, to a total of over $1.2 billion Asian Development Fund Trump administration requested a 52% cut Congress granted the Trump administration request, cutting to a total of $43 million African Development Bank Trump administration requested a 17% cut Congress granted the Trump administration request, cutting to a total of $204 million Total: Multilateral Assistance Trump administration requested a 30% cut Congress cut funding by 12%, to a total of $1.9 billion State: Global War on Terror (GWOT) GWOT “Transition Initiatives” Trump administration requested a 37% increase Congress granted the $62 million request GWOT Drug War Trump administration requested a 52% cut Congress increased by 1% to $418 million GWOT Nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining and related programs Trump administration requested a 7 % increase Congress cut almost 40% GWOT Foreign Military Financing Program Trump administration requested a 66% cut Congress cut by 65% to $460 million GWOT State Dept Total Trump administration requested a 27% cut Congress cut funding by 27%, to $12 billion Department of Transportation Total funding: $27.2 billion National Infrastructure Investments Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 200%, to a total of $1.5 billion even Federal Railroad Administration Federal State Partnership for State of Good Repair Trump administration requested a 4% increase Congress increased the funding by 900%, to a total of $250 million even Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Trump administration requested a 63% cut Congress increased funding by 770%, to a total of $592 million. AMTRAK (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Northeast Trump administration requested a 28% cut Congress increased the funding 98%, to a total of $650 million National Network Trump administration requested a 55% cut Congress increased funding by 10%, to a total of $1.3 billion Total Trump administration requested a 38% cut Congress increased funding 67%, to a little over $3 billion Maritime Administration Operations and Training Trump administration requested a 2% cut Congress increased the funding by 193%, to over $500 million Ship disposal Trump administration requested a 70% cut Congress increased funding by 241%, to $116 million Total Trump administration requested a 25% cut Congress increased funding by 87%, to a total of $979 million Department of Transportation Total Trump administration requested an over 11% cut Congress increased funding by 47%, to a total of $27.2 billion. Department of Housing and Urban Development Tenant-based Rental Assistance Sec 811 vouchers Trump administration requested an 11% cut Congress increased the funding by 320%, to a total of $505 million Total: Trump administration requested a 5% cut Congress increased funding by 8%, to a total of $22 billion Community Development Fund Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding by 10%, to a total of over $3.3 billion Congress added another $28 billion in emergency money HOME Investment Partnership Program Trump administration requested to eliminate the funding Congress increased funding 43%, to a total of $1.3 billion Total Housing Programs Trump administration requested a less than 1% cut Congress increased over 8% to $12.5 billion Sound Clip Sources Video: White House Budget Briefing: Slowing Medicaid Growth Rate, C-SPAN, May 23, 2017. News Report: Trump's budget to cut billions to EPA, foreign aid, Fox News, March 16, 2017. News Report: Trump budget proposes cuts to state and EPA, boosts for defense and wall, NBC Nightly News, March 16, 2018. Video: 35 Classic Lines from "Spaceballs," YouTube, January 28, 2018. Radio Interview: Federal Drive with Tom Temin - Nicole Ogrysko on DHS: 'We're not looking for the 30-year career employee,' Federal News Radio, July 5, 2016. Video Clip: Sesame Street Clip, YouTube, August 30, 2012. Community Suggestions See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)
In today's Federal Newscast, a new report from the Energy Department's Inspector General finds the agency's Chief Financial Officer moved too much money over to the Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability account.
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria wiped out the electricity on the entire island of Puerto Rico. Six months later the lights are still off for too many people. In this episode, by hearing highlights of Congressional testimony from Puerto Rico's government officials and through stories of Jen's recent trip to the island, learn the good news and the bad news about life right now on Puerto Rico. Please Support Congressional Dish Click here to contribute using credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Bitcoin Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD028: Crisis in Puerto Rico CD147: Controlling Puerto Rico Additional Recommended Listening The David Pakman Show Additional Reading Article: Needs go unmet 6 months after Maria hit Puerto Rico by Danica Coto, AP News, March 20, 2018. Article: Six months after Maria, the hardest hit city in Puerto Rico is still being ignored by AJ Vicens, Grist, March 20, 2018. Article: The battle for paradise by Naomi Klein, The Intercept, March 20, 2018. Report: U.S. executive appointed head Puerto Rico power company by Dalissa Zeda Sanchez, Caribbean Business, March 20, 2018. Report: Puerto Rico legislature sends education reform to governor's desk for enactment by Genesis Ibarra, Caribbean Business, March 20, 2018. Report: Gov presents Puerto Rio justice, agriculture reorganization plans, Caribbean Business, March 20, 2018. Article: 'We are the forgotten people': It's been almost six months since Hurricane Maria, and Puerto Ricans are still dying by John D. Stutter, CNN, March 15, 2018. Article: Puerto Rico reforms could boost GNP by 1.5 percent: Jaresko by Daniel Bases, Reuters, March 14, 2018. Press Release: Committee seeks answers on corruption at Puerto Rico Power Utility, House Committee on Natural Resources, March 12, 2018. Report: Recycled proposals in Puerto Rico's fiscal plans by Luis J. Valentin Ortiz, City & State New York, March 11, 2018. Article: 'This city has been ignored': Yabucoa, ground zero for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, still reeling by Rick Jervis, USA Today, March 11, 2018. Article: The role of private investment in rebuilding Puerto Rico by The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC, March 8, 2018. Opinion: Puerto Rico? Guinea pig for water privatization by Britt Fremstad, Public Citizen, 2018. Article: Why Puerto Rico is pushing to privatize its schools by Mimi Kirk, City Lab, February 27, 2018. Report: Citigroup drove Puerto Rico into debt. Now it will profit from privatization on the island by Kate Aronoff, The Intercept, February 21, 2018. Report: Hedge fund-driven austerity could come back to bite the hedge funds driving it in Puerto Rico by Kate Aronoff, The Intercept, February 3, 2018. Article: Privatization won't fix Puerto Rico's broken power utility by Lara Merling, NACLA, February 1, 2018. Press Release: Bishop statement on Puerto Rico fiscal plans, PREPA privatization by House Committee on Natural Resources, January 25, 2018. Report: Puerto Rico governor seizes opportunity created by Hurricane Maria, plans to privatize electric power by Kate Aronoff, The Intercept, January 24, 2018. Article: The peril of privatizing PREPA by Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, January 24, 2018. Report: Puerto Rico to sell off crippled power utility PREPA by Daniel Bases, Reuters, January 22, 2018. Report: Puerto Rico utility workers charge that federal government is hoarding reconstruction supplies by Kate Aronoff, The Intercept, January 16, 2018. Article: PREPA "Warehouse 5" was no secret by Alex Figueroa Cancel, El Nuevo Dia, January 16, 2018. Article: Energy answers marchincinerator: the struggle continues by Leysa Caro Gonzelez, El Nuevo Dia, January 16, 2018. Report: Armed federal agents enter warehouse in Puerto Rico to sieze hoarded electric equipment by Kate Aronof, The Intercept, January 10, 2018. Article: Puerto Rico said 64 people died in Hurricane Maria. A new report puts the death toll over 1,000 by Aric Jenkins, Time.com, December 19, 2017. Report: Nearly 1,000 more people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria by Center for Investigative Journalism, Latino USA, December 7, 2017. Law Firm Post: Did you lose money investing in Puerto Rico bonds with Morgan Stanley financial advisor Robert Dennison? by Erez Law Firm, December 6, 2017. Article: The lineman got $63 an hour. The utility was billed at $319 an hour. by Frances Robles, The New York Times, November 12, 2017. Article: Ex-Morgan Stanley broker at center of Puerto Rico bond disputes by Bruce Kelly, Investment News, September 28, 2017. Report: Maps: Hurricane Maria's path across Puerto Rico by Sarah Almukhtar, Matthew Bloch, Ford Fessenden and Jugal K. Patel, The New York Times, September 26, 2017. Article: Incinerating the future: Austerity crisis threatens wetlands and economic opportunity for Puerto Rico by Adriana Gonzelez, The Planet: Sierra Club, August 14, 2017. Report: Puerto Rico's Fiscal Control Board spent $31 million in fiscal year 2017 by Julio Ricardo Varela, Latino USA, August 2, 2017. Report: SEC probes Barclays, Morgan Stanley bankers over Puerto Rico by Martin Z. Braun, Bloomberg, June 28, 2017. Report: Puerto Rico Senate approves bill to eliminate debt audit commission by Cindy Burgos Alvarado, Caribbean Business, April 18, 2017. Article: A glimpse of Natalie Jaresko by Jose A. Delgado Robles, El Nuevo Dia, March 29, 2017. Article: Ukraine must fully implement IMF Program, says former finance minister by Mitch Hulse, Atlantic Council, April 14, 2016. Article: How free electricity helped dig $9 billion hole in Puerto Rico by Mary Williams Walsh, The New York Times, February 1, 2016. Article: Puerto Rico - a way forward by Anne O. Krueger, Ranjit Teja, and Andrew Wolfe, GDB.PR.GOV, June 29, 2015. Article: Meet the woman overhauling Ukraine's economy - and born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago by James Ellingworth, Business Insider, March 1,2015. Article: Proposed Arecibo waste-to-energy plan gets EPA nod by Michelle Kantrow, Energy Answers, May 10, 2012. Research Paper: Does private management lead to improvement of water services? Lessons learned from the experiences of Bolivia and Puerto Rico by Susana Maria Cortina de Cardenas, University of Iowa Research Online, Spring 2011. Resources DESMOG Blog Info: Edison Electric Institute Energy Answers Resources: Puerto Rico Resource Recovery and Renewable Energy Project International Monetary Fund Bio: Anne O. Krueger International Monetary Fund Blog: Ranjit Teja LinkedIn Profile: Noel Zamot, Federal Oversight Management Board USDA Report: Arecibo Waste to Energy Generation and Resource Recovery Facility Arecibo, Puerto Rico Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Hurricane Recovery Efforts in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, Power Utility Officials; Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, November 14, 2017. Witnesses: - Natalie Jaresko - Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico - Jose Roman Morales - Associate Commission and Interim President of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission - Ricardo Ramos - Executive Director of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority - Julio Rhymer - Executive Director of the US Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority 53:40 Ricardo Ramos: Many of the fallen poles fell because of the additional weight of infrastructure that originally was not supposed to be there, so the grid itself is old—are new. Design standards account for an amount of additional infrastructure for communications and other, but many of the poles were—they had communications because some local law of Puerto Rico permitted the common right-of-way usage, so we had to allow telecom companies to put the telecommunications cables there—but the pole itself not necessarily was designed to those standards. 59:10 Natalie Jaresko: So, as you know, Madame Chairman, the board took an action and filed in the Title III court to name a chief transformation officer. The court ruled yesterday against us in that action, although we have not yet seen the written judgment, so I can’t comment on it in detail. Hearing: Hurricane Recovery Efforts in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, Governors; Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Witnesses: - Donald Jackson - Deputy Commanding General of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Civil and Emergency Operations - Kenneth Mapp - Governor of US Virgin Islands - Jose Roman Morales - Associate Commission and Interim President of the Puerto Rico Energy Commission - Ricardo “Ricky” Rossello - Governor of Puerto Rico - Bruce Walker - Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 38:20 Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Bruce Walker: PREPA, with the limited crews that it had—I will point to this map over here—made an early decision to have to tie the southern portion, where the generation is, to the northern portion, where the load is. And in doing so, they made a key decision to construct the 230 kV line from the south, bringing it up to the San Juan area, the Bayamon substation. On the map, you can see here, from down here, wrapping up through here, that that align is going to appear all the way over to here. What was important about that was that one decision and the efforts made by PREPA, with limited staffing, enabled the power to be distributed to where the load was and in conjunction with the other big decision, which is the next slide, Jennifer, the Army Corps, working with PREPA, installed two 25-megawatt generators at the Palo Seco generation plant, and that, in conjunction with the rebuild of the 230 line, enabled power to be distributed to the northern portion to start picking up commercial and residential customers. Those two efforts were monumental, given the facts and circumstances. The installation of this generator was, with the letting of the contract and the install—and I was at Palo Seco when this was being put in—and the work that had to be done was really incredible—we had fantastic support from PREPA in coordinating it particularly with the re-laying and the coordination with the Army Corps. 1:10:00 Governor Ricardo Rossello: We have several flaws in terms of the design, aside from having antiquated power plants. Most of our generation was done in the south, yet most of the people and most of the consumption is done in the north, so you lose about 12 to 15% in the transmission, going northward. It is time, it is an opportunity, to rethink that, where do we have that generation and make it better? Piggybacking on Senator Cassidy’s comments, I think it is an opportunity also to leapfrog in renewables. I’ve envisioned us leapfrogging to 25% renewables in Puerto Rico and recognizing that there are some mitigation strategies that we need to put in place. That is why we have worked with the PREPA governing board to have a group of thought leaders that can actually help us in the design, looking forward, and specifically looking where this could happen. Last-mile events in Puerto Rico are very important. It’s important to consider the terrain. Puerto Rico’s not flat; it’s got a mountainous region. And so we will be very aggressively pursuing that we get to 90, 95% of energy consumption and energy generation, but that last mile always takes more time because there are sort of remote areas of the island. This is an opportunity to make microgrids in Puerto Rico so that they can be sustained in different areas. And, lastly, adding to this whole component of renewables, I think it is an opportunity to look at this from a bottom-up-and-a-top-down approach. With the collaboration of FEMA, we were able to, for the first time in the STEP program, allow that either a power plant generator be added to the house or a renewable battery-pack solar combo be added to those homes in the STEP program. Now, we expect that there will be about 80,000 homes that will be introduced in the STEP program. Think about what that means if half of them decide to go with the renewable battery-pack route. It means that now you have the starting conditions to actually think about things like a virtual power plant in Puerto Rico, where you can have smart distribution of the energy; and where some days it might be cloudy in some areas in Puerto Rico—it’ll be sunny, certainly, in others as well—and that energy can be distributed alongside, of course, a complement of utility-size and industrial-size generation, which I envision, Senator, should start transitioning from petroleum-based generation, which is costly and, of course, more harmful, to liquid-gas and so forth generation. So, those are, in a nutshell, what we envision the sort of future grid of Puerto Rico looking like. 1:34:15 Senator Catherine Cortez Masto: It’s my understanding under the Stafford Act, it’s Section 406(e), that limits the use of federal disaster-relief funds for repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing a public facility or private nonprofit facility on the basis of the design of the facility as the facility existed immediately before the major disaster. Now, my understanding of that, then, is that all of the talk that I’ve heard today, which is important talk about new infrastructure—burying lines, looking at how we add renewable capacity—that is something that is not going to be addressed through the funding, through the relief, that comes from the federal government. Is that correct? And I guess I’m asking Mr. Walker and General Jackson, is that your understanding? Assistant Secretary of the Department of Energy Bruce Walker: That is my understanding. As I mentioned earlier, we’re doing emergency restoration work now. A number of the things that have been mentioned here, if the Congress approves additional appropriations, those would be opportunities that we could further, you know, build into— Masto: And that’s—are you asking today, then? That’s what you’re asking Congress today, additional appropriations outside of the Stafford Act be able to set up new infrastructure and do just what we’ve heard today, because we know another hurricane’s going to come through, or some other disaster. I think it’s just the way the climate is today. Is that the ask today from the governors? Governor Ricardo Rossello: To amend that, could you repeat the question, Senator? Masto: Sure. So, the Stafford Act limits the amount of— Rossello: Yeah. Masto: —money that you’re getting from the federal government for disaster relief to repair and reconstruct. Rossello: Yeah. Masto: It is not for new construction or new types of renewable energy or burying lines. So, are you coming today for additional funds outside of the Stafford Act, outside of disaster relief? Is that what I’m hearing today? Governor Kenneth Mapp: Yes. Yes, because under Stafford, if a system connected to the power generation isn’t damaged, it can’t be touched. If it’s cost effective, it can be mitigated, but the whole power system is all connected, and so if we want to change to more-efficient renewables—wind, solar—if the generation system hasn’t been damaged, then we can have an exclusion. So we will need changes in the language to permit that. Rossello: Yes. We are, we recognize what the limitations of FEMA funding are within this, so we’re asking for additional funding so that we can get that flexibility as well and actually rebuild better. I mean, again, you can discuss whether it’s a good idea or not on the context of the merit of the energy and the structure, but it is really just a bad idea to rebuild a system that is frail over again, spend good taxpayer money in that, because you’re going to have to do it once over again. 1:44:34 Senator Mazie Hirono (HI): Based on your estimates, how much are you asking Congress to fund in terms of the kind of modernization, resilience, etc. that you would like to see in Puerto Rico? Governor Ricardo Rossello: Yeah. It’s about $17 billion in damage estimates. Hirono: One year? Rossello: No. For the bulk of the process. Hirono: Seventeen billion dollars? Rossello: Yes, that’s right. Hirono: And is it your—well, I know that you hope that Congress will authorize that, and do you think that authorization or the funding to occur in one year, or is it over a period of time? Rossello: No, it would be over a period of time, of course. 1:53:28 Senator Bernie Sanders (VT): Puerto Rico is struggling with an unsustainable 75-billion-dollar debt and $49 billion in pension obligations. More than one-third of that debt is held by Wall Street vulture funds that are getting interest rates of up to 34% on tax-exempt bonds they purchased for as little as 29 cents on the dollar. Is that correct, Governor? Governor Ricardo Rossello: Yep. Hearing: Puerto Rico Recovery Challenges; House Natural Resources Committee, November 7, 2017. Witnesses: - Natalie Jaresko - Executive Director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico - Angel Perez Otero - Mayor of Guanynabo, Puerto Rico - Noel Zamot - Revitalization Coordinator of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico 22:30 Natalie Jaresko: As the committee is aware, the board has recently named Noel Zamot as chief transformation officer of PREPA, with all the powers of a CEO and reporting to the board. We believe this is absolutely essential both to restoring service as soon as possible and to creating a sustainable, efficient, resilient, and fiscally accountable power system for the island. While the board is confident, the PROMESA, coupled with fundamental aspects of bankruptcy law, gives us the power and responsibility to do as we have done. Some parties are vigorously contesting our authority in proceedings before the Title III judge. To avoid uncertainty and lengthy delays and litigation, congressional reaffirmation of our exercise of our authority is welcome. 23:08 Natalie Jaresko: We have also implemented a contract-review policy as a tool to ensure transparency throughout the government, for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico and all stakeholders. The policy applies to all contracts in which the commonwealth or any covered instrumentality is a counterparty, including those with the federal government, state governments, and private parties. The policy provides that all contracts of 10 million or more must be submitted to the board for its approval before execution. In addition, the board retains the authority to adopt other methods, such as random sampling of contracts below that 10-million-dollar threshold, to assure that they promote market competition and are not inconsistent with the approved fiscal plan. 26:48 Noel Zamot: I will retain key leaders on my staff to enable speed and effectiveness in our decision-making. I’d like to highlight two key roles. The chief operations officer will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the utility. This will initially be a senior leader from within PREPA but will be augmented by an industry executive identified in conjunction with input that we are receiving from the Edison Electric Institute. 27:41 Noel Zamot: I’ve also identified key executives to serve on a board of advisors. These are CEOs from public and private utilities who have generously volunteered to bring their considerable expertise to help with this task. I will also rely on an internal group of world-class experts from multi-national utilities, the energy sector, academia, and more. 28:22 Noel Zamot: Puerto Rico’s energy strategy calls for 50% renewables by 2040, with a balance of natural and LP gas mix; regional grids, with generation close to demand; physical hardening and control systems to provide resiliency; and widespread distributed generation, all wrapped by an empowered and accountable energy regulator. PROMESA is clear in its guidance to attract private capital to achieve this end state. We need to do just that, not only for generation but to attract innovative capital solutions from the private sector for transmission and distribution as well. 43:42 Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ): Do you or the board hold a view that, relative to Title V, waiving or eliminating additional federal environmental safeguards like NEPA or regulations will accelerate the recovery in Puerto Rico? Ms. Jaresko, you and then Mr. Zamot, if you don’t mind, as well, answering the question. Natalie Jaresko: I certainly believe that further expeditious permitting is a requirement. I’m not an expert on the individual sets of permitting, but I want to underline that it’s both federal, commonwealth, and municipality permitting at all levels. It needs to be expedited for any private-sector investment to become a quick recovery. Grijalva: Okay. Mr. Zamot, do you think that’s needed? Noel Zamot: Thank you, sir. My view is that economic growth and fast-tracking projects is not inconsistent with being good stewards of the environment, and we have a very robust process within Title V and within the working group that we have set with the government to ensure that we, the residents of Puerto Rico, are very respectful of that. Grijalva: If I may, sir, let me just follow up with you. You cite the proposed trash incinerators an example of a project Title V that could come to fruition, but I see an example of why Title V, in this instance, doesn’t work. Public comments about the project are overwhelming in opposition. It’s opposed by both mayors’ groups, representing all the mayors in the island. It was stalled in part because it couldn’t get a permit to drain 2.1 million gallons from a protected wetland. Farmers and residents concerned about the effects on their health, that it could undermine recycling programs that are in place. It flooded during the hurricane. We have a before-and-after situation, that’s up on the screen. It flooded during and released some of the hundreds of tons of toxic ash that could release, in the future, toxic ash into surrounding neighborhoods. And it requires a major loan from the federal government to go forward even though it’s fully privately funded for 67 megawatts of power. Is that what we can expect in terms of Title V critical projects? Zamot: Sir, there are many voices that, obviously, in a democratic process, voice their concern with such a project, but there are equal number of voices on the positive side. We don’t look at this project in Arecibo necessarily as even a power project. It is really a waste-management project. Puerto Rico has a critical, essentially a crisis, in waste management and landfill use that has been identified by the EPA, and that is why the EPA has actually been supportive of this program. 47:30 Representative Doug Lamborn (CO): Is it safe in assuming that pretty much 100% of the electricity generated in Puerto Rico today is from burning fuel oil? Noel Zamot: Sir, I would say it’s 96%. There is approximately 4% that is renewables in Puerto Rico right now. Lamborn: And as we know, fuel oil is very expensive and very dirty. Zamot: That is correct, sir. Lamborn: So, I like the plan. I think you said by 2040, 50% renewables, 50% natural gas through liquefied form. Zamot: That’s correct. Lamborn: Have you identified investors who are willing to make that huge investment in a LNG terminal? Zamot: Sir, there are a number of investors that are actually very bullish on Puerto Rico’s long-term prospects, and we and the board and specifically in my role as revitalization coordinator, we receive a lot of proposals, a lot of questions about how people can bring innovative capital solutions using private capital to bear, to benefit, the reconstruction of the grid and the people of Puerto Rico. Lamborn: Well, I would really urge you to keep pushing in that direction because I don’t think nuclear or coal is going to be a solution. Renewables are great, but to provide that much electricity in that short of time is unrealistic. So I welcome the discussion about LNG. 50:30 Representative Doug Lamborn (CO): And the last thing I want to ask you about is that 800-million-dollar project, and the ranking member referred to it: burning waste to create electricity. Is my understanding that that would be privately funded and would not need government subsidies of any kind? Noel Zamot: That is correct, sir. It’s entirely privately funded. Some of the capital structure includes some federal loans, but there is no money from Puerto Rico, and it relies on relatively new technology that is respectful of emissions. 51:53 Representative Grace Napolitano (CA): The incinerator would be built in an area in Arecibo previously contaminated by a battery recycling plant, and it was flooded during the hurricanes. Has the area been tested for lead, arsenic, and other contaminants? Noel Zamot: Ma’am, I do not have the specific details on what work has been accomplished to date, but we do know that the company that is planning that work has done extensive mitigation pre-work— Napolitano: How long has the plant been there, that it hasn’t been tested? Zamot: Ma’am, I do not have that information. Napolitano: Would you mind sending the answers to this committee— Zamot: Yes, ma’am. Napolitano: —so we can understand that. And how does the Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC plan to prevent their landfill from being flooded by future hurricanes? Zamot: Ma’am, could you repeat the question? Napolitano: How do you prevent landfill from being flooded by hurricanes? Zamot: That is an engineering question that I’m not prepared to answer right now. I would imagine that that has been looked at in the permitting that the company has received to date. Napolitano: Okay. When and—how and when does the company plan to bury the toxic ashes generated by the incinerator? Zamot: That is being currently discussed with the current Puerto Rico administration. Napolitano: Is, let’s see, how many Puerto Rico municipalities refuse to send trash to the plant incinerator? Zamot: I think the answer to that is many, because that represents a threat to current waste management in Puerto Rico, which the EPA has identified as a critical need to address. 1:19:36 Representative Steve Pearce (NM): Now, one of the problems that I see, just as a former business owner taking a look at it, one of the reasons that residents had to pay such a high rate is that certain entities didn’t have to pay for the electrical power. One of those would be the hotels. So are they still exempt from paying their power? Natalie Jaresko: Each of the economic development plans that Puerto Rico implemented over the years had individual tax agreements— Pearce: I’m just asking about the hotels. Jaresko: —between businesses and energy. Pearce: Are they still exempt? Are they not exempt? Jaresko: Some of them are, yes. Pearce: Some of them are exempt. Jaresko: That’s correct. Pearce: Now, also, cities were also exempt, and so city governments were exempt prior, according to what I’ve read. Noel Zamot: That’s correct, sir. 1:38:50 Natalie Jaresko: The board certainly considers privatization as one of the options going forward. There’s a question that remains open to see whether it’s privatization of the entire power sector, meaning generation transmission and distribution or some select part, or whether it just means bringing in private sector to compete and bring down the cost and bring up the efficiency of electricity. We’re looking at all of those as we define this fiscal plan for PREPA. 1:49:50 Representative Raul Labrador (ID): You stated that prior to the hurricane that the board possessed the authority to execute its mission and deliver on the underlying mandate Congress set with PROMESA, but with the devastation, you allude that those tools may be inadequate. So please tell us why does the board currently have—does the board currently have the tools necessary to facilitate efficient and effective recovery? Natalie Jaresko: I will try to be clear. I believe the board has the tools, that PROMESA gives us the tools. That said, when there are disagreements, the use of those tools ends up in costly and time-consuming litigation. Today more than ever that time and that cost is not helping Puerto Rico, so we asked for clarity of the tools that we have—whether it is in the appointment of a CTO through Title III, whether it is the implementation of our contract-policy review, or whether or not it is the implementation of the fiscal plans in full when certified. Labrador: So, what else do you need to be successful? Is there anything else that we need to give you to be successful? Jaresko: I think we would appreciate a legislative affirmation of those and/or conditioning of appropriations on those powers as you see fit. 2:11:11 Representative Garret Graves (LA): The governor recently proposed a law to address emergencies and disasters. Part of that law would allow, basically, eliminating or waiving sales tax in Puerto Rico. Are you aware—is that proposal on your radar screen? Were you consulted? Natalie Jaresko: No, we were not consulted. And I am aware that there has been a problem because of the lack of electricity and the collections of the sales-and-use tax. However, as electricity comes back, the collection process should also return. Graves: So you were not consulted. You were not aware on the front end. If ultimately the governor certifies that this is in compliance with the fiscal plan and you determine otherwise, what happens then? How does that play out? Jaresko: Well, I would hope that they would consult prior to putting that policy in place because it is something that can have a direct adverse fiscal effect, and it could be not in compliance with the fiscal plan. If they certify that it is, as you described, then we have a situation which could potentially, again, lead to difference of opinion in terms of what our role is in PROMESA. And it is very difficult for us, once it is certified by the government as being in compliance, if we disagree, to reverse that. Graves: I’m sorry. Say that last part again. Jaresko: If the government certifies that the executive order or law is in compliance with the fiscal plan, it is difficult for us to reverse that. Graves: Your hands are effectively tied. Do you think Congress should revisit that in terms of something that you believe causes economic harm or undermines the objectives of the fiscal plan but you don’t have the ability to actually help reset that? Jaresko: I think it should be very clear that the intent of PROMESA was for us to be able to stop things that were having an adverse effect on the fiscal plan, yes. 2:26:37 Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL): Arecibo incinerator, Mr. Zamot, I would hope you would talk to Secretary Vilsack because you seem to have a different perspective than he does, since the loan from the USDA is through the Rural Utilities Services. In other words, the money is not in order to do something with waste management; the money is to create energy. But you said to us earlier—and correct me if I’m wrong, if I misunderstood—that the purpose is one of for garbage, basically, disposal, and not for energy. How do you see it? Is it garbage disposal or energy? What is the primary purpose of it? Noel Zamot: Sir, the government of Puerto Rico has a letter out, and they consider that plan in Arecibo to be both a provider of energy— Gutierrez: But when you said primarily, you said primarily. Zamot: The plan at Arecibo, where about 2% of the aggregate electrical demand— Gutierrez: Okay. So primarily, I heard you—and we can go back to the record—you said that it was primarily; yet, they are asking for a loan between half a million and 750 million dollars. And let me just assure you and everybody here: Given the fact that the government of Puerto Rico already owes over $2 billion, unless Mrs. Jaresko’s going to use some of her skills to eliminate that debt, I don’t see how we’re going to do that. And in the last 25 seconds, because I want to focus on this issue with you, do you believe that the control board has such power that you do not have to take into consideration the concerns of the duly elected mayors of the cities that will be affected by the incinerator? Or do you feel you need to consult with them before you make a decision going forward? Zamot: Sir, in 9 seconds, the statute provides for a public comment period that in conclusion— Gutierrez: So, you don’t believe. You do believe that you’re supreme. You’re kind of a dictator over everything. 2:32:05 Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez (PR): You say that the board has the power to name a chief transformation officer to take over the management of PREPA, and at the same time, I know the state government, state legislator, the governor is against that. And you filed a motion in the court to allow that to happen. Do you have the power or you don’t have the power to actually name the coordinator board? Natalie Jaresko: Thank you. We believe we do have that power, and that’s why we filed that petition in court. We believe we have that power under Title III as any representative of a debtor, and the board is named the representative of the debtor, in the law in PROMESA, to name a chief restructuring officer, a receiver, a chief transformation officer, as we call it. Gonzalez: So, sorry to interrupt you, but then you don’t need any change in the PROMESA law? You don’t need any power to make that happen, because that’s the question this committee is doing. What do you need in terms of helping the people of Puerto Rico to recover power? I think that’s the main question. If we were a state, we will not have you. If we were a state, we will have full funding in all federal programs, and now that’s a problem all territories got. Jaresko: The board believes that in appointing this CTO will help us move more quickly to restoration of power. That is the only reason the board took this position, and they took it at this time. 2:43:30 Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL): Mayor, thank you very much for being here with us. Could you tell us your annual salary? Mayor Angel Perez Otero: My? Gutierrez: Yes. *Otero: 96,000. Gutierrez: $96,000. Mr. Zamot? What’s your annual salary? Noel Zamot: That’s a matter of— Gutierrez: I’m sorry? Zamot: Sir, that’s a matter of public record. Gutierrez: How much is it? Zamot: I think it’s in the record, sir. Gutierrez: Just—can’t you tell us how much it is? You know how much you’re getting paid. Why are you so reluctant to give us—this is a committee. Just want to know how much you’re getting paid. The mayor was very forthcoming. Zamot: The board found a competition competitive compensation of $315,000. 2:55:30 Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL): So, I’ll ask Mrs. Jaresko—I didn’t get to ask you—what’s your annual salary? Natalie Jaresko: $625,000. Gutierrez: $625,000. Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)
Recorded in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2017. SWF co-sponsored, with the National Space Weather Partnership, the 2017 the Space Weather Enterprise Forum. This year’s theme was "Implementing a National Space Weather Partnership.” The forum brought together a blended audience of space weather experts from both research and operations, space weather users from the public and private sectors, academia, international representatives, and policy makers. One of the event objectives was continuing outreach and education to raise awareness of space weather effects on systems and humans and to provide information on available services. Speakers Ms. Kenyetta Blunt, Chief, Recovery Planning Branch, Federal Emergency Management Agency Mr. Ralph Stoffler, Director of Weather, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, US Air Force Dr. Ken Friedman, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy Mr. Mark MacAlester, Telecommunications Specialist and National Response Coordinator in the Disaster Emergency Communications Division at FEMA Moderator: Mr. Jack Anderson, Department of Homeland Security More details, including transcripts, can be found at the event page on the SWF website.
Lunch will be served Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 12:30 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) invite you to a briefing about the key role played by the 56 governor-designated State and Territory Energy Officials, other state agencies, the private sector, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in mitigating the impacts of and responding to energy supply disruptions (of electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products). Such emergencies, often caused by extreme weather, can pose a threat to public health and safety and can cause lasting economic harm. According to the Congressional Research Service, weather-related outages cost the nation between $25 and $70 billion annually. State Energy Officials often lead the preparation of energy emergency (or energy assurance) plans, and work with the private sector and DOE in responding to energy emergencies. Equally important is mitigating the potential severity and length of energy emergencies through the promotion of more resilient energy infrastructure; electric generating fuel diversity; construction of high-performance mission critical public facilities; diversification of transportation fuels; and energy and water efficiency retrofits of public facilities. Such actions also help to minimize disruptions to mission-critical facilities, such as police and fire stations, schools, water systems, hospitals and communications infrastructure. To fulfill this critical public safety mission, State Energy Offices and their partners rely on the federal funding provided by DOE’s State Energy Program (SEP), and the expertise offered by its Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. In partnership with DOE, states have led innovation on energy emergency preparedness and response, as well as energy infrastructure resilience, for over 25 years. Their efforts focus on limiting the impact of energy supply disruptions from all hazards—natural and man-made—and returning energy systems and communities to normal activity as rapidly as possible. In this briefing, NASEO and state energy directors will discuss the concept of energy assurance—as well as key mitigation actions—and how State Energy Offices partner with state and local agencies and the private sector to rebuild after a natural disaster, prepare for future emergencies, and improve resiliency with energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Lunch will be served Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 12:30 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) invite you to a briefing about the key role played by the 56 governor-designated State and Territory Energy Officials, other state agencies, the private sector, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in mitigating the impacts of and responding to energy supply disruptions (of electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products). Such emergencies, often caused by extreme weather, can pose a threat to public health and safety and can cause lasting economic harm. According to the Congressional Research Service, weather-related outages cost the nation between $25 and $70 billion annually. State Energy Officials often lead the preparation of energy emergency (or energy assurance) plans, and work with the private sector and DOE in responding to energy emergencies. Equally important is mitigating the potential severity and length of energy emergencies through the promotion of more resilient energy infrastructure; electric generating fuel diversity; construction of high-performance mission critical public facilities; diversification of transportation fuels; and energy and water efficiency retrofits of public facilities. Such actions also help to minimize disruptions to mission-critical facilities, such as police and fire stations, schools, water systems, hospitals and communications infrastructure. To fulfill this critical public safety mission, State Energy Offices and their partners rely on the federal funding provided by DOE’s State Energy Program (SEP), and the expertise offered by its Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. In partnership with DOE, states have led innovation on energy emergency preparedness and response, as well as energy infrastructure resilience, for over 25 years. Their efforts focus on limiting the impact of energy supply disruptions from all hazards—natural and man-made—and returning energy systems and communities to normal activity as rapidly as possible. In this briefing, NASEO and state energy directors will discuss the concept of energy assurance—as well as key mitigation actions—and how State Energy Offices partner with state and local agencies and the private sector to rebuild after a natural disaster, prepare for future emergencies, and improve resiliency with energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Lunch will be served Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 12:30 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) invite you to a briefing about the key role played by the 56 governor-designated State and Territory Energy Officials, other state agencies, the private sector, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in mitigating the impacts of and responding to energy supply disruptions (of electricity, natural gas, and petroleum products). Such emergencies, often caused by extreme weather, can pose a threat to public health and safety and can cause lasting economic harm. According to the Congressional Research Service, weather-related outages cost the nation between $25 and $70 billion annually. State Energy Officials often lead the preparation of energy emergency (or energy assurance) plans, and work with the private sector and DOE in responding to energy emergencies. Equally important is mitigating the potential severity and length of energy emergencies through the promotion of more resilient energy infrastructure; electric generating fuel diversity; construction of high-performance mission critical public facilities; diversification of transportation fuels; and energy and water efficiency retrofits of public facilities. Such actions also help to minimize disruptions to mission-critical facilities, such as police and fire stations, schools, water systems, hospitals and communications infrastructure. To fulfill this critical public safety mission, State Energy Offices and their partners rely on the federal funding provided by DOE's State Energy Program (SEP), and the expertise offered by its Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. In partnership with DOE, states have led innovation on energy emergency preparedness and response, as well as energy infrastructure resilience, for over 25 years. Their efforts focus on limiting the impact of energy supply disruptions from all hazards—natural and man-made—and returning energy systems and communities to normal activity as rapidly as possible. In this briefing, NASEO and state energy directors will discuss the concept of energy assurance—as well as key mitigation actions—and how State Energy Offices partner with state and local agencies and the private sector to rebuild after a natural disaster, prepare for future emergencies, and improve resiliency with energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Last March, NRG CEO David Crane wrote a passionate letter to investors. “There is no Amazon, Apple, Facebook or Google in the American energy industry today,” lamented Crane. His plan, he said, was to make NRG the company “that enables the consumer to make their own energy choices.” Months later, Crane broke the electricity supplier up into three parts: NRG Business, NRG Home and NRG Renew. The Home arm of the business now includes retail sales, residential solar, residential EV charging and home energy management. In this week’s show, we’ll talk with the new CEO of NRG Home, Steve McBee, about his plan to double revenues through energy customization and consumer empowerment. Later in the show, we’ll discuss a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute about the economics of “load defection” caused by solar-plus-storage. We’ll wrap up with a conversation about California’s severe drought. Are tech entrepreneurs ignoring an opportunity to address a crisis in their own backyard? This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey.
The 2014 ControlTrends Awards event is only eight days away! The voting phase is over and the votes are being tallied. It will be an amazing and exciting night featuring the heroes and superstars of HVAC and Building Automation Industry. We thank our sponsors for making the ControlTrends Awards possible. Monday, January 26th, 2015 at Chicago’s McCormick Hyatt, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM, though we invite you to get there early to walk the red carpet and elegant ambiance of the Prairie Ballroom to celebrate the 2014 ControlTrends Awards Winners, the Petock Award recipient, and the ControlTrends Hall of Fame inductees. Voluntary Code of Conduct for Smart Grid Data PrivacyU.S. DOE Releases Voluntary Code of Conduct for Smart Grid Data Privacy. January 12, 2015: President Obama announced the release of the final concepts and principles for a Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC) related to privacy of customer energy usage data for utilities and third parties. The final VCC is the result of a 22-month multi-stakeholder effort which was facilitated by the Energy Department’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in coordination with the Federal Smart Grid Task Force. Mr. Jones Votes and Gets Ready For The ControlTrends Awards. Voting for the 2014 ControlTrends Awards ends January 15. Click here to vote. Get ready for all the excitment and fun at the 2014 ControlTrends Awards January 26 from 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Prairie Ballroom, and meet the superstars of the Building Automation and HVAC Controls Industry including the very talented Bill Jones, who put together this video. Ron Vokoun Data Center Predictions for 2015. A very special thanks to Ron Vokoun DBIA, LEED AP BD+C, leads the Mission Critical Market for at JE Dunn Construction for this very insightful post. And to Rick Warner, a.k.a “The Innovator” for making us aware of Ron. With the arrival of a new year, organizations are making plans to address the explosion of enterprise data in 2015. A big question is how those plans will differ from your data center operations this past year. The Best Way To Control Electrical Plug Loads? Rob Allen Explains. On this episode of 7 Minutes in Control Rob Allen and Michael Bonner show you the best way to control loads at the plug level. Plug-IT delivers a remarkable solution to maximize your energy savings and is an award-winning product that leverages existing Niagara installations! Easily meets the latest ASHRAE 90.1 standards for controlling 50% of wall receptacle plug loads. Can Your Building Automation Control System Do This? Honeywell might be the only company on the planet that combines building Automation Controls and Access and Security in one JACE, truly integrating ACCESS and Security and Building Automation Controls from one source and one vendor. Savvy systems integrators and owners love the value of this solution. Watch the video below and tell us what you think in comments. 2015 Building Energy Summit — Early Bird Registration Ends January 31, 2015. On March 25, 2015, more than 500 of the nation’s top building owners and managers, along with technology and energy experts, will convene in Washington DC to discuss groundbreaking and innovative solutions for energy efficient buildings. Sign up for the 2015 Building Energy Summit. Philip Henderson Meet John Petze.Great talk by Philip Henderson, who is the senior financial policy specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Philip is speaking at GreenBuild. One of Philip’s points is that 80% of the buildings that are targeted for Vision 2020 and beyond are already built. Building more energy efficient buildings is great, but to reach the objectives of Vision 2020 we must make existing buildings more operationally efficient. The post ControlTalk NOW: The Smart Building Podcast/Videocast Week Ending January 18, 2015 appeared first on ControlTrends.
ControlTrends thanks Neptronic, this week’s ControlTalk NOW Platinum sponsor. Founded in 1976, Neptronic has a rich history of HVAC industry firsts, beginning with the earliest adoption and advancement of the direct coupled actuator (DCA) conversion in the North American market. Neptronic continued its industry innovation with the introduction of the ball valve and the capacitance fail safe feature (1996 Patent) — and more recently, won a coveted 2014 AHR Expo Innovative Award for their SKD Humidifier. Neptronic is a private corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes products for the HVAC industry, whose product line includes intelligent controllers, electronic actuators, actuated valves, humidifiers and electric heaters. U.S. Department of Energy Webinar on Smart Grid Data Privacy: A Voluntary Code of Conduct. ControlTrends Community, here it is. Participation is requested (and important)! DOE information release, November 17, 2014: On Wednesday, December 11, 2014 the Energy Department’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in coordination with the Federal Smart Grid Task Force will conduct a webinar to conclude the development phase of a Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC) related to privacy of customer energy usage data for utilities and third parties. ControlTrends Training: High Pressure Refrigeration Controls: A special thanks to Mike Glenn from Johnson Controls for putting this training video on High Pressure Refrigeration controls together. You can also check out Mike’s video on low pressure refrigeration controls by clicking here. These switches regulate critical functions within a refrigeration system and are essential to its proper operation. Low-pressure switches are commonly used to control compressor operation or act as a low-limit control. We Need to Talk: Intel’s MICA — My Intelligent Communications Accessory. Okay, this version is a limited featured, fashion accessory for stylish women, but a few beefed-up wearable siblings, with shock-proof and waterproof features, can’t be far behind. This is the CONTEXTUALIZATION PRINCIPAL’s best example so far — that has figured out, “INTELigently,” how to claim enough wearable body real estate without significant negative consequence, and takes the lead as the Star-Trecky IoT game-changer that will link every aspect of your life to a connected device worn on your wrist. Get your VISAs out, it’ll probably be ready for your holiday purchases. Read more on Intel’s website! GC Valves TIP: Solenoid Valves for Oil & Gas Burner Pilot Applications: GC Valves offers very competitive, high-quality solenoid valve solutions for general purpose, oil and natural gas burner, and custom-solenoid valve applications. Now that the cold weather has arrived, here is a reminder that GC Valves manufactures some of the most popular pilot valves for oil and natural gas burners. Introducing 2014 Residential Thermostat of The Year Nominee: Honeywell Lyric Round is cool again! Round is cool again! Honeywell introduced the T87 Round thermostats when Ken Smyers, the man, the myth, the legend was but a mere tike. Round gave way to rectangular shaped thermostats and round stats got lost in the thermostatic style wars. It took a guy from Apple, Tony Fadell, to make round cool again when he introduced the Nest thermostat a couple of years ago. Not to be out done, Honeywell, the original purveyors of round, packed over 100 years of Honeywell control know-how into the ultra cool Honeywell Lyric. How a VFD Pays for Itself:This week Stromquist hosted a Drive to Savings Day with Siemens and GA Power to educate our customers on the benefits of Variable Frequency Drives and GA Power’s current rebate programs for VFDs and other HVAC equipment. Most people already know that installing a VFD can save money by cutting back on the energy it takes to run equipment, but not everyone is aware that there are additional savings to reap by taking advantage of GA Power’s rebate opportunity. For any NEW drive installed on existing equipment, GA Power will issue a $50 per HP rebate. So a 20 HP drive will bring a $1000 rebate. Add that to the money saved in energy costs, and the new drive will pay for itself very quickly! Smart Meters and Big Brother Video Editorial. Check out this video from Minivan Jack! Is he just being paranoid or does he have a point? If not through a smart meter, what about through a Nest thermostat collecting your information? Let me know what you think in comments. Contemporary Controls’ Modbus Profile Builder Software for the BASgatewayLX is Now Available! November 2014 — The BASgatewayLX uses a csv (comma separated value) file that is uploaded to it to provide the modbus point list that will be polled. Contemporary Controls builds these Modbus maps and posts them on our BASgatewayLX profile page. If you need a Modbus that is not currently on line please contact us, and we will enjoy creating it for you. The post ControlTalk NOW for the Week Ending November 23, 2014 appeared first on ControlTrends.
Identify innovative, high-risk research opportunities that complements current investigations with the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the electricity grid in the next 10 to 20 years. (November 1, 2007)