The Trump Budget Means More Pollution and Serious Threats to Health

“The Trump administration budget released today is a blueprint for a less healthy, more polluted America. A budget shows your values – and this budget shows the administration doesn’t value clean air, clean water, or protecting Americans from toxic pollution.

“For the second year in a row, President Trump has proposed devastating cuts to EPA, despite the fact that its budget in real terms has been cut by more than half over the last four decades. The direct result of these reckless cuts will be more asthma attacks for our kids, more cancer and diabetes, and thousand more deaths from pollution.

“EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt claims to want a cleaner environment, but his actions – and this budget – prove the opposite.

“You can’t clean the air while slashing funding for air pollution monitoring.

“You can’t hold polluters accountable by cutting the enforcement program, even as there are already fewer agents than required by law.

“You can’t protect Americans from toxic chemicals while underfunding and eliminating critical research programs that evaluate potentially hazardous chemicals — and leaving that program in the hands of someone who came directly from the chemical industry lobbying association.

“You can’t protect Americans from toxic waste if you ignore the EPA Inspector General’s conclusion that the Superfund program is “insufficiently” staffed — and leave the program in the hands of Mr. Pruitt’s banker friend, a man who has been banned from his industry for life for mismanagement and malfeasance.

“You can’t protect our children’s future by slashing climate change programs, lifting limits on climate pollution, and undermining science.

“Mr. Pruitt is a polished politician, but this budget proves his real intentions: To gut EPA so that the industries which have always supported his career can do whatever they want to our air and water. It is our kids who will suffer the most.

“The irresponsibility in this budget does not stop with EPA cuts.

“Even after seeing the dangerous toxics released from plants in Texas following Hurricane Harvey, the Trump administration still wants to cut the independent agency that investigates chemical disasters. That is reckless.

“The research and development in clean energy and efficiency that’s being done at the Department of Energy is the cornerstone of our country’s efforts to develop the clean energy future we all want. Cuts to these programs will hurt American competitiveness and job creation.

“”Across-the-board cuts for land, water and wildlife conservation programs will have devastating impacts on people and nature. Specifically, cuts to Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Agriculture and Forest Service Forest Service programs will put imperiled species, ecosystems and communities at even greater risk than they already are. At a time when wildfires, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events are only increasing, and the administration is expanding infrastructure and energy development, we can’t afford any more cuts to programs that make us more climate resilient.

“”The Administration’s larger infrastructure proposal, also mentioned in today’s announcement, appears to undermine the safeguards that protect our air, land, and water. Smart and sustainable infrastructure projects create more jobs, better jobs, and better lives for American families. Let’s take this opportunity to rebuild a cleaner America.”

- Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund“