84 congressmen advocate $2m. for US-Israel energy collaborations

House subcommittee releases $2 million for cooperative energy projects between the US and Israel.

By SHARON UDASIN
US Capitol building in Washington DC 390 (photo credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
US Capitol building in Washington DC 390
(photo credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
A bipartisan group of 84 congressmen and women pressed a House subcommittee on Tuesday to release $2 million for cooperative energy projects between the US and Israel.
Reps. Brad Sherman (D-California), Eliot Engel (D-New York), Michael Grimm (R-New York) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), along with the other legislators, sent a letter to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development requesting that the funds be provided, as per the US-Israel Energy Cooperation Program in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill.
Since the program’s inception in 2008, the US government has provided $9.7m. to it, with funds matched by Israel, leveraging more than $19.5m. in private sector cost-share, according to the letter.
“That 84 bipartisan members backed this year’s annual funding request – the most ever – is a clear sign of Congress’s support for this program,” Sherman said. “The House recently 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.”
Also in the letter, the congressmen referred to a US-Israel Strategic Partnership act passed in March as further evidence for funding needs.
Nearly half of that bill focused on the need to strengthen collaboration between the two countries on energy projects.
The US-Israel Energy Cooperation program funds research and development in energy technologies and energy efficiency in the private sectors of the two countries, in fields such as water treatment, energy optimization, energy storage, emissions reduction and noise control, the legislators explained.
“Collaboration between the American and Israeli private sector and academia will significantly enhance US efforts to develop new technologies to the benefit of our economic and national security,” they said.