Washington, D.C. -- The Trump administration today released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2020. As in previous years, the budget contains significant cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, this time proposing to cut EPA by $2.8 billion, or 31%. As in previous years, Congressional appropriators have indicated that the President’s budget is very unlikely to be enacted as proposed.
Clean Water Action President and CEO, Bob Wendelgass, released the following statement:
“We don’t get to a better America by gutting funds for the agencies charged with protecting our water, air, and health. Reducing EPA’s budget by nearly $3 billion will stymie the agency, leaving communities to fend for themselves. The President’s proposal doubles down on the Administration’s dirty water agenda, slashing or eliminating programs that protect vital watersheds and water bodies like Puget Sound, the Great Lakes, and the Chesapeake Bay, while cutting funds state environmental and health agencies rely on to protect clean water and implement our nation's health and environmental laws. One egregious example is that grants made to state agencies to make sure drinking water meets federal standards are proposed to be cut by 34% despite overwhelming evidence that we need to do more to reduce lead at the tap and make sure drinking water systems are complying with the law and operating at the level the public expects.
This is the third time that the President has proposed an extreme and dangerous budget. The first two were ignored by Congress and we urge this Congress to reject this as well.”
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Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. We will protect clean water in the face of attacks from a polluter friendly Administration.
