House Passes Funding Bills with Important Guardrails on President Trump

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a package of three funding bills responsible for most of the government’s environmental protection and clean energy programs: the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, and Interior and Environment appropriations bills. The bill now moves to the Senate.

“Democrats and Republicans have worked together to reject many of the deep spending cuts the White House wanted, and it’s time the Trump administration spends these taxpayer dollars as Congress directs,” said Joanna Slaney, vice president for political and government affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “For the past year the Trump administration has relentlessly undermined Congress’ spending authority and allowed for more and more health-harming pollution. These funding bills restrain the reckless, and often unlawful, impulses of the Trump administration and are essential for clean air and water."

House Republicans’ original funding bills included drastic proposed cuts to clean air and water. In the bipartisan funding package that just passed the House, lawmakers fund these environmental protections near previous levels and restrain the Trump administration from withholding or misusing funds through legally binding spending requirements.

In November, a coalition including a Midwestern city and energy and environmental organizations, including Environmental Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit challenging the cancellation of millions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funding from the Department of Energy for vital energy and transportation projects.