Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100

Frelinghuysen’s House Budget Still Cuts EPA

The newly released House Appropriations Committee spending bill that would cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget by $528 million next year. Even though this is less than the $2.6 billion cut President Trump proposed, it will still have devastating impacts on the EPA’s ability to protect our water and air. The $31.4 billion spending bill includes funding for the Interior Department, the Forest Service and related agencies. However, in total it is $824 million less than current levels and $4.3 billion higher than Trump’s budget. Appropriators aim to pass on small cuts to the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Land and Water Conservation Fund would be cut by $125 million from its current $400 million budget. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement:

“The House’s EPA budget is still a threat to the environment. The $528 million cut will still have major consequences. This is less than President Trump’s $2.6 billion cut, however, this is just the beginning of negotiations. The final budget will end up somewhere in the middle, which will still devastate the EPA. As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Frelinghuysen is going along with President Trump’s attack on the environment by cutting EPA programs. Trump is still cutting back on enforcement, while trying to buyout 1800 employees by forcing them to retire early. At the same time, the President is dismantling progress to reduce air pollution and climate impacts, while stopping Clean Power Plan. Trump is still threatening our clean water by trying to repeal the Waters of the United States Rules. He is still trying to rollback stricter CAFE standards that make it easier for all of us to breathe. Even though these cuts are less, there shouldn’t be any cuts at all because it will have major impacts to people and the environment.”

“Congressman Frelinghuysen shouldn’t be cutting the EPA budget at all, especially programs that directly impact New Jersey. These cuts are less than Trump’s budget, but this is just the just the starting point. We don’t know what the final budget will be and Frelinghuysen may go along with the deeper cuts because he has caved on important environmental issues in the past. He has sided with Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt instead of the people of New Jersey by attacking the EPA. He called the EPA a ‘huge bureaucracy’ and told Scott Pruitt ‘I share at times some of the animus that is aimed at your agency.’ It is outrageous that 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.”

“One important program kept in this budget is the Chemical Safety Board. This Board was created after the deadly explosion in Lodi, New Jersey that rained toxic debris on an entire neighborhood. However, we will see if this will make it into the final budget because this is just the first round of negotiations because it won’t be decided until October. Even if there are less cuts, Congressman Frelinghuysen shouldn’t get any green cover if he gets a little money for Highlands or open space because this budget still threatens our clean air and clean water.”

“The House budget is still siding with polluters over public health by attacking the EPA. Without EPA funding, our 114 Superfund Sites will not have enough funding to be monitored or cleaned up. Not funding the Superfund program will leads to clean up delays, more toxins going into ground water and neighborhoods threatening human health. The failure to have adequate funds means it takes longer to clean up sites leading to more toxics going into groundwater and neighborhoods. Sites that are waiting to be cleaned up like the Passaic River and the Ringwood Superfund site will not get the funding. With most people in New Jersey living within 10 miles of a Superfund site, this puts our communities at risk. This is all part of Trump’s rollback of environmental protections so he can take care of corporate polluters.”

“The EPA cuts will have devastating impacts to New Jersey because they will still disrupt water quality testing, while eliminating programs to clean up our water supply, and deal with climate change. What this means is we won’t know if people will be swimming in sewage or protected from the next storm. These cuts are part of the Administration’s war on science by eliminating the scientists and EPA staff. We could still see cuts to EPA’s research facility in Edison, who has 450 employees that help clean-up hazardous chemical spills and set standards for clean-ups to make sure they are protective of human heath. What the Administration is trying to do is get rid of the EPA, by eliminating its staff and the funding for science. We need to restore EPA funding not keep cutting back because it will mean there is no one to enforce the law and make sure our communities are protected.”