Energy Department seeks $26.4 billion

WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department's $26.4 billion budget request would, among other things, help the country move to energy independence, Secretary Steven Chu said.

The budget "reflects (President Barack Obama's) commitment to ending our dependence on foreign oil, restoring our scientific leadership and putting Americans back to work through investments in a new green energy economy," Chu said Thursday in a news release.

The fiscal year 2010 budget proposal would cut funding for programs that aren't needed or aren't as effective as other investments, such as eliminating more than $200 million in oil and gas company research that the companies can and do fund on their own, Chu said.

The budget expands the use of clean, renewable energy sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure and would provide funding for development of a "smart, strong and secure electricity grid," the department said.

It also would fund scientific leadership and innovation, including transformative science that could lead to a new generation of clean energy jobs, Chu said.

To help reduce greenhouse gas production, the Energy Department's budget proposal would invest in in low-emissions plug-in and hybrid vehicles, nuclear energy and clean coal technologies, the secretary said.

The proposal would support continued security of the nation's weapons stockpile, ongoing efforts at nuclear non-proliferation and environmental cleanup and legacy management, Chu said.