mr. chairman , this bill is not perfect . 
but it provides appropriate funding for many important purposes , and i will vote for it . 
subcommittee chairman hobson , ranking member visclosky , and their colleagues on the appropriations committee deserve our thanks for their work on this legislation . 
their task was made harder by the restrictions imposed by the budget resolution championed by the republican leadership , and the bill does not include some things that i think should have been funded . 
but i think they have done a good job with the allocation of funds available to them , and the bill does include some items of particular importance to coloradans . 
in particular , i am very pleased that it will provide nearly $ 580 million to continue -- and , i hope , complete -- the cleanup of rocky flats . 
formed by the location of a facility for making key parts of nuclear weapons , the rocky flats site is located just 15 miles from downtown denver and at one time was the location of large quantities of nuclear materials and other hazardous substances . 
because of its proximity to our state 's major metropolitan area , timely and effective cleanup and closure of the site has been a matter of top priority for all coloradans . 
with the funding provided by this bill and barring unforeseen developments , the department of energy and its contractor , kaiser-hill , should be able to complete the cleanup in the coming months -- and while the department will have ongoing responsibilities at rocky flats , completing the cleanup will enable it to focus even more intently on the cleanup work to be done at other sites . 
so , i strongly support this part of the bill . 
however , while we are taking care of the site , it is essential that we also take care of those who worked there . 
some of them were made sick because of exposure to beryllium , radiation , or other hazards . 
it was because of them , and those like them who worked at other sites , that i worked with our colleagues from kentucky and ohio , mr. whitfield and mr. strickland , as well as others in both the house and senate , and with secretary of energy bill richardson and his colleagues in the clinton administration , to pass the energy employees occupational illness compensation program act ( eeoicpa ) . 
i am proud to have been able to help get this program enacted and i will continue working to improve it for those who have worked at rocky flats and other sites . 
and , we need to also remember the other workers at rocky flats as well . 
as they near the completion of their jobs at the site , they are understandably concerned about what will come next . 
many have moved on to other jobs , and others will do so . 
but many are facing uncertainties about their futures . 
for all of them , it is essential that doe acts promptly to resolve remaining questions about the futures they can expect when their work at rocky flats is finished . 
for that reason , i recently wrote to ask secretary bodman to give immediate attention to two important matters -- ( 1 ) determining the future administration of pension and health insurance plans for rocky flats workers ( and for those at other closure sites as well ) ; and ( 2 ) assuring the continued availability of medical benefits for rocky flats workers who will not be eligible for full retirement at the time of the site 's closure . 
i pointed out that doe 's office of legacy management ( lm ) has stated that it is developing a plan for the transition of pension and insurance plans , as well as for record keeping and other matters for which lm is responsible . 
however , i also noted that no such plan yet exists , which means there is increasing concern among the rocky flats workers about their future . 
there now remain only a few months for these matters to be resolved prior to closure . 
time is of the essence . 
so , i was very glad to note that the committee report accompanying this bill directs doe to report by september 30 , 2005 , on the department 's plan for a national stewardship contract for administration of the pension and benefit payments to former environmental management closure site contractor employees . 
i applaud the committee for including this directive , and urge the administration to complete and submit this report as soon as possible . 
the bill also includes other matters of particular importance for colorado . 
it provides funding for several bureau of reclamation projects in our state , including the colorado-big thompson project and the fryingpan-arkansas project as well as the ongoing construction of the animas-la plata project . 
it also includes needed funds for operation and maintenance of a number of reservoirs operated by the army 's corps of engineers as well as for other corps activities in colorado . 
and i am very glad to note that the bill will provide funds for completing construction of the new science and technology facility at the national renewable energy laboratory . 
i am disappointed , however , that the bill shortchanges some of the important clean energy programs at nrel . 
as co-chair of the renewable energy and energy efficiency caucus in the house , i have worked for years to increase -- or at a minimum , hold steady -- funding for doe 's renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development programs . 
given the finite supply and high prices of fossil fuels and increasing global demand , investing in clean energy is more important than ever . 
doe 's renewable energy programs are vital to our nation 's interests , helping provide strategies and tools to address the environmental challenges we will face in the coming decades . 
these programs are also helping to reduce our reliance on oil imports , thereby strengthening our national security , and also creating hundreds of new domestic businesses , supporting thousands of american jobs , and opening new international markets for american goods and services . 
for our investment in these technologies to payoff , our efforts must be sustained over the long term . 
this bill does not do that . 
this bill is $ 23 million less than last year 's bill in the area of renewable energy research . 
this includes cuts in biomass , geothermal , and solar energy programs . 
i believe that the reductions in funding levels for the core renewable energy programs are ill-advised at a time when the need for a secure , domestic energy supply is so crucial . 
i am also concerned about the bill 's deep cuts to energy efficiency programs such as industrial technologies ( $ 16 million ) and state energy program grants ( nearly $ 4 million ) and a cut of nearly $ 5 million in the distributed energy and electricity reliability program . 
nonetheless , mr. chairman , my regrets about this bill are outweighed by my appreciation for the good things that it includes , and so i urge the house to pass this important appropriations bill . 
