Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100

Congressman Frelinghuysen Sides With Trump, Pruitt Over Environment 

At the House Appropriations Committee hearing on the EPA budget, Chairman Frelinghuysen agreed with Scott Pruitt and attacked the EPA. He called the EPA a “huge bureaucracy” and said “I share at times some of the animus that is aimed at your agency.” EPA actually has fewer staff now than it did in years past. In 1999, the EPA workforce peaked to 18,110 people, but last year it dropped to 15,376. The President’s budget would slash the EPA by close to a third. These cuts the state grants in half and New Jersey, disrupt water quality testing, while eliminating programs to clean up our water supply, promote clean energy and deal with climate change. It will also cut 3,800 jobs from the EPA leaving no staff to enforce laws to protect our air and water.

“Congressman Frelinghuysen has sided with Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt instead of the people of New Jersey by attacking the EPA. He has shown a strong dislike for an agency whose job is to protect public health and the environment. What he fails to mention is that without the EPA kids would be swimming in sewage on our beaches, there will be no more scientists working to clean up Superfund and other toxic sites, while polluters will be allowed to threaten our air and water,” Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “President Trump’s budget will cut the agency by 1/3, while there will be major layoffs. Without the EPA, there will be no one to ensure polluters are not violating the law and we are protected from chemical spills and other accidents. New Jersey will be impacted by EPA cuts more than any other state because will we see more climate impacts from severe storms, flooding, and sea level rise.”

By cutting the EPA budget from $8.2 billion to $2.6 billion, jobs at the EPA will be dramatically cut, some reports originally estimated from 15,000 employees to 5,000 employees. Trump’s cuts now include a 50 percent drop in funding for states. Trump’s plans include cutting back funding for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s work to combat climate change by $5 billion. By slashing funding and jobs, it will directly impact New Jersey by removing oversight and inspections on regulations.

“Frelinghuysen is coming out against the EPA as a bureaucracy, while it is under attack by President Trump. Frelinghuysen runs around saying he supports the Superfund program, but he isn’t support Superfund Tax and won’t stand up against to Trump cutting the program by 30 percent. He is even given Trump cover by cutting back the EPA, which will end the groundbreaking work the Edison EPA lab has done on cleaning up toxic sites. Trump’s budget will mean our 118 Superfund sites will not be cleaned-up nor will hundreds of other toxic sites that could leaking contamination into our groundwater and communities. This impacts Frelinghuysen’s district, but instead he has blocked action to fund the Superfund program,” said Jeff Tittel. “Considering that New Jersey suffers the most from Superfund Sites, pollution, and climate change, the Congressman has not properly defended the people and communities of New Jersey by pushing for these cuts.”

Instead of working to protect the state and communities he represents, Congressman Frelinghuysen continuously votes to support Big Oil and other corporate polluters. For example, he voted to life the crude oil export ban. Since Congressman Frelinghuysen has been in Congress, but he has done nothing to reinstate the Superfund Tax since it expired in the 1990s. New Jersey has more Superfund Sites than any other state in the nation but we don’t have enough money for adequate clean ups and we aren’t going after polluters. The Congressman takes credit for clean-ups during his annual tour of these sites, while simultaneously voting against the funding. He should have been working to get proper funding to really clean-up these sites that put New Jersians in danger every day.

“It is not a surprise Frelinghuysen is going along with Trump’s attack on the environment because when it comes to the environment he has one of the worst voting records in all of Congress. While Trump is rolling back environmental protections by dismantling and eliminating programs, Frelinghuysen is cheering him on,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We will continue to demand that Congressman Frelinghuysen protect the people of his district by fighting federal environmental rollbacks and working to protect the EPA. If Congressman Frelinghuysen doesn’t represent us, then we will get someone who will.”