Key Vote NO on the ARPA-E Act, H.R. 5906

On behalf of FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the ARPA-E Act, H.R. 5906. This bill would continue to fund of an unnecessary and unauthorized government program that hinders research and development in the private sector on energy-related projects.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) was started by the Obama administration as a part of its failed 2009 stimulus package. This program funds high risk energy projects and puts taxpayers on the hook for the bill should they fail. If the market does not want to take a chance on these efforts, the American people shouldn’t have that risk foisted upon them by the government.

ARPA-E is also an unauthorized program. Despite this, Congress has continued to appropriate money for it. Last year, instead of eliminating it as the Trump administration requested, Congress actually increased its funding. This reflects more of the same from a Congress that doesn’t want to take a hard look at actually getting spending under control.

The administration has, once again, requested the program’s elimination. This time, Congress should heed that request. After failing to pass the administration’s rescissions package that would have cut $15 billion in unfunded obligations, cutting ARPA-E would only be a drop in the bucket, but a sign that Congress can take the smallest of steps to both cut spending and shrink the size of government.

FreedomWorks will count vote for this bill on our 2018 Congressional Scorecard. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks