During the Reagan years the federal government has practically abandoned many of the energy conservation policies implemented in the late 1970s. For example, the President's Task Force on Regulatory Reform urged Congress to do away with automobile fuel efficiency standards (the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards). Congress refused to do so, but the Department of Transportation then lowered the standards from 27.5 miles per gallon to 26. Similarly, the budget for energy conservation programs has been cut in half since 1980 and the budget for renewable fuels has been reduced by over 90% since 1980.

This vote is on a Walker (R-PA) amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill for fiscal 1988 (H.R. 2712) to cut $25 million from the energy conservation appropriation. Most of the money was earmarked for basic research on friction, the sterling engine, and ways to make the steel industry more energy efficient. The Walker amendment was rejected by a vote of 130-281 on June 25, 1987. NO is the pro-environmental vote.