From River Network (https://www.rivernetwork.org/):
Recently the federal law that protects water quality across the country, the Clean Water Act, hit a milestone – 45 years in place. Yet the protections guaranteed by the Clean Water Act are in jeopardy. The Trump Administration proposed a federal budget that slashed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31% back in May. Fortunately, development of the federal budget requires Congress to dive into the details and develop a package of bills that keep the government agencies running. The House of Representatives completed this process in September, restoring many of the cuts that the Administration had proposed.
New analysis shows that the House succeeded at backfilling cuts by cutting the core programs of the EPA even further than the Administration. Important functions of the agency such as monitoring our streams and lakes, setting standards to protect them, and enforcing anti-pollution controls are threatened by the budget passed by the House. The Senate has an opportunity to correct these shortsighted decisions – they have not voted on the EPA budget yet. In fact, their work on the appropriations process has been repeatedly postponed.
There is still hope. Tell our Senators that these deep cuts are unacceptable. Find contact information for our Senators in the following locations:
- Senator Robert Casey: http://casey.senate.gov
- Senator Pat Toomey: http://toomey.senate.gov
If the Senate votes for the funding needed to protect our drinking water and air quality and to control pollution, the negotiations between the Senate and the House can result in a package that has a longer term vision. For more information on the budget process and ideas for communicating your message see River Network’s Federal Budget Toolkit. Now is the time to make our voices heard.
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