From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):
The Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2017-18 is an express ticket to making America a second-class country for science, innovation, environmental protection and conservation.
Under the guise of putting “America First,” the president aims to cut key science and environmental agencies by $33.15 billion. This represents the largest modern day attack on core federal programs tasked with advancing American technology, managing public lands, and protecting our air, water, and climate. If fully realized, these cuts would be devastating.
The following is a summary of PennFuture’s analysis of the proposed budget:
Rolls Back Environmental Protection and Pollution Enforcement
- Cuts the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by $2.4 billion or by more than 30 percent.
- Reduces funding for environmental enforcement by 23.5 percent.
Severely Cuts Water Pollution Programs
- Eliminates federal funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration, Great Lakes restoration, and geographic programs at the EPA.
- Cuts the Department of Agriculture (USDA) by $7.3 billion or by more than 28 percent.
- Eliminates grants for state water and wastewater projects through the USDA.
- Eliminates EPA’s Water Infrastructure Financing program.
Aims To Stop Development of Next-Generation Clean Energy
- Cuts the Department of Energy (DOE) by $1.6 billion or by more than five percent.
- Eliminates federal funding for next generation energy projects at ARPA-E, loans for energy demonstration projects.
Abolishes Climate Energy Efficiency Programs
- Eliminates state weatherization grants for making homes more energy efficient.
- Eliminates state energy grants, which supports the Commonwealth’s energy office.
- Eliminates international climate programs at the EPA and Department of State.
Stops Funding for Public Land Protection Programs
- Cuts Department of Interior (DOI) by $1.6 billion or by more than 12 percent.
- Eliminates federal funding for the United States 49 Heritage Areas, 9 of which are in Pennsylvania.
- Reduces funding for public land acquisition by $120 million.
Eliminates Investments in Coal and Appalachian Communities
- Eliminates the Appalachian Regional Commission, which provides restoration and economic development grants to historic coal counties.
- Eliminates federal funding for abandoned mine reclamation projects.
- Eliminates the Economic Development Administration, which has been providing grants to coal communities for infrastructure and development projects.
Severely Cuts Investments in Science and Innovation
- According to the AAAS, the President’s budget represents the largest cuts since they began tracking the federal budget.
- Reduces funding for the Office of Science, which funds innovative research at our National Labs and has never been targeted for cuts.
- Cuts environmental R&D at the EPA by 48 percent.
- Includes cuts above 10 percent for key research agencies like NIST, NOAA, and the USGS.
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