The House today voted to boost funding for nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, prevent the Department of Energy from subordinating taxpayer loans behind private investment and eliminate a wind-energy promotion program as debate wrapped up on the fiscal 2013 energy and water spending bill.

The underlying bill, which would give $32.1 billion to DOE, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, is expected to pass this evening following a series of final amendment votes.

Passage of the bill will set up a showdown with President Obama, who has threatened to veto the bill, and Senate Democrats, who have objected to the House bill's preference for funding fossil fuels rather than renewable energy and its language aimed at opening Yucca Mountain, among other provisions.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the energy and water spending bill in April, but a floor debate has not been scheduled. A Senate Democratic aide said today that the bill would not come up this month and that its fate later this summer remained unclear. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, said earlier this week that the House vote was largely a political exercise and actual decisions about spending levels for next year would not be made until after the election.

Lawmakers spent days considering the measure on the House floor, where more than 60 amendments were offered. Among the amendments passed this afternoon was a $10 million boost to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow it to resume and complete evaluation of the license application to store spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, Nev.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who sponsored the amendment, said the additional funding -- which comes on top of about $40 million already in the bill -- is designed to ensure the NRC has enough money to "finish the job" of evaluating Yucca's application to circumvent arguments the commission has made in court that it should not have to evaluate the license because its funding would be inadequate to complete the evaluation.

The Yucca amendment, which passed on a bipartisan 326-81 vote, along with the other House supports for the controversial waste site are likely to create controversy in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) opposes the project. The White House also listed the Yucca language among the reasons for a veto threat issued on the House bill last week.

The House this afternoon also adopted an amendment from Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) aimed at preventing DOE from allowing loan guarantee recipients to repay private lenders before the federal government. It keyed in on one of the most controversial aspects of the loan guarantee to Solyndra, which Stearns has taken a lead role in investigating on Capitol Hill, and was one of several amendments keying off the controversy (E&E Daily, June 6).

Stearns' amendment passed 348-60. Last night, the House adopted by voice vote amendments from Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) limiting DOE's authority to issue loan guarantees under the 1705 program that funded Solyndra.

This evening, the House will vote on an amendment from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) that would prevent DOE from issuing loans under its separate 1703 loan guarantee program, which supports traditional energy projects such as nuclear, as well as renewables.

During this morning's session, the House adopted by voice vote an amendment from Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to eliminate funding for DOE's Wind Powering America program, which was established in 1999 to promote the use of wind energy through partnerships with states, utilities and other stakeholders. Flake said the program was unnecessary because wind is a largely mature technology that has benefited from decades of government support.

Democrats defended the program's work in promoting still-fledgling areas of the industry such as offshore wind, but they ultimately allowed it to be attached via a voice vote.

The House this afternoon rejected an effort from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) to strip funding from a cooperative clean energy research program between the United States and China on a 181-229 vote. Rohrabacher introduced the measure last night with a fiery floor speech in which he compared the Chinese government to Adolf Hitler (Greenwire, June 6).

Other amendments adopted this afternoon include one from Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) to prevent DOE from sending out cash with public opinion surveys in order to entice a response and from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) prohibiting funding for a study on the Missouri River.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) failed to get an amendment attached to the bill that would transfer $10 million from National Nuclear Security Administration weapons activities to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Flake failed in an effort to strip funds from DOE's Batteries and Electric Drive Technology Program, which conducted research that aided the development of the Chevy Volt, among other advances.

Votes on about 15 additional amendments, as well as final passage, were proceeding at press time.