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Sherman Leads Bipartisan Effort to Fund U.S. – Israel Energy Cooperation

March 25, 2015

106 Representatives Join in Appropriations Committee Request to Fund Energy Cooperation Program with Israel

Washington, DC – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of 106 House members in a request of $2 million for the U.S.–Israel Energy Cooperation Program in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. Co-leaders of the letter include Congressmen Bill Johnson (R-OH), Peter King (R-NY), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Ted Deutch (D-FL).

The appropriations request this year included the highest number of signatories – 106 members of Congress – since the creation of the program in 2008.

The program is designed to leverage matching contributions from the Israeli government. It also leverages investments from the Israeli and American private sector; thus, for every dollar Congress appropriates, three dollars are invested, contributing to the economy in addition to energy security. Since its inception the program has received $23.4 million from the U.S. and Israeli governments ($11.7 from each government) and has also raised over $27 million from private sector investments.

"The U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Program continues to spur and advance new and innovative energy projects," said Congressman Sherman. "This tremendous bipartisan support is a clear indication that Congress supports funding for this program from both sides of the aisle. Just last year the House also voted to expand this program into water technology, an important area for California and many other states. I will work with the Administration on further boosting funding for this program in future budgets."

Congressman Sherman wrote the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act in 2005. Congress ultimately enacted the legislation as Section 917 of a larger energy reform bill, the Energy Independence and Security Act, in December 2007.

The program funds research and development in energy technologies and energy efficiency in the American and Israeli private sectors. These projects include advancements in hydroelectric energy production, lowering energy consumption for water treatment, energy optimization for manufacturers, wind energy storage, reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for tractor trailers, and noise control for distributed power generation.

The request comes at a time when Congress and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, on which Sherman is a senior member, are focusing on U.S. energy security.

See text of the letter below:

March 18, 2015


Hon. Mike Simpson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
House Committee on Appropriations


Hon. Marcy Kaptur
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
House Committee on Appropriations

RE: Support for U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation

Dear Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur,

We are writing to request that the subcommittee provide at least $2 million for the implementation of the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperative Agreement in the FY2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.

This funding will be utilized to further implement Section 917 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, P.L. 110-140, and the May 2008 agreement between the U.S. and Israel on strategic energy cooperation. As you are aware, Congress recently passed, and the President signed into law, the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-296). Among other important provisions, the measure reauthorized the cooperative energy program through 2024 and expanded its mandate, covering collaborative R&D into renewable technologies, natural gas and water – key areas of interest for the United States.

We greatly appreciate the support your subcommittee has provided for this program in the past. The U.S. government has provided $11.7 million for the program since its inception. The funding has been fully matched by the Government of Israel; this is not an aid program. During the same period, the program has also leveraged over $27 million in private sector cost-sharing.

This program is an important tool in our efforts to achieve greater energy security and independence, and leverages small grant dollars to incentivize private sector innovation and new partnerships in the pursuit of a critical objective. U.S.-Israel projects currently underway include lowering energy consumption for water treatment, energy optimization for manufacturers, wind energy storage, reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for tractor-trailers, and noise control for distributed power generation.

Continued funding for the program will provide for collaborative U.S. and Israeli research and development efforts in areas critical to both the United States and Israel and unite our countries in the pursuit of increased energy security, energy independence and water efficiency – an issue of growing importance to much of the U.S. West and Southwest, and an area where Israel is truly the world leader.

Companies across the U.S. are working through this program to develop cutting-edge technologies with new partners in Israel in order to advance America's energy security. Furthermore, the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperative Agreement facilitates greater cooperation and sharing of knowledge between American and Israeli universities.

Collaboration between the American and Israeli private sector and academia will significantly enhance U.S. efforts to develop new technologies to the benefit of our economic and national security.

We thank you for your consideration and for your prior support of this program and request your continued support for FY2016.

Sincerely,

Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Ted Deutch (D-FL)
Peter Roskam (R-IL)
Peter King (R-NY)
Bill Johnson (R-OH)