Reported EPA Funding Cuts Would Put Health and Safety of All Americans at Risk

“According to news reports, President Trump will release a budget blueprint tomorrow morning that will slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by a shocking 31 percent. If these reports are true, the Trump Administration is putting the health and safety of all Americans at risk.

“These cuts will hobble EPA’s ability to protect the air we breathe, to help states with clean drinking water funds, to enable communities to clean up and economically re-develop toxic sites, and to enforce the law against criminal polluters. The real-world result will be more asthma attacks and developmental problems for our children from smog and toxic mercury pollution, more premature deaths, and a much more dangerous future from unlimited climate pollution.

“The most shocking part is that it’s not really about saving money. Out of every ten dollars the government spends, EPA only gets two cents. The agency’s budget is tiny by comparison to other government spending and has already been cut substantially in recent years. This is an overzealous attempt to undermine America’s most basic environmental protections, with no concern about the serious harm it will cause American families.

“Cleaning up our air and protecting our waters are core American values. Demolishing EPA’s funding threatens those values – and puts us all at risk.”

            - Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund