President Bush's federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2006 includes big cuts for Energy Title programs. Section 9006 (the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program) is slated for only $10 million comparted to the $23 million for 2005 (the amount called for in the original 2002 legislation).

For FY 2004 and FY 2005, Congress successfully restored full funding for this program after similar proposals from the Administration. The budget is tight this year so it will be important for the appropriations committee members to understand that this is a priority.