We made phone calls and met them in person, and our hard work paid off. On May 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies rejected the Trump administration’s massive proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Instead, the panel provided $9.52 billion for the EPA – $672 million above the fiscal year 2019 enacted level and $3.42 billion above the president’s budget request. It includes increases for staffing, enforcement, and science. It also restores funding for geographic initiatives.
“The funding measure shows lawmakers have paid close attention to President Trump’s attempts to cripple the EPA over the past two years,” said Gary Morton, president of AFGE Council 238, which represents 8,000 EPA employees nationwide. “The subcommittee has demonstrated its continued deep commitment to EPA’s mission of protecting human health, and the environment.”
As the full House and the Senate still need to approve the budget, Morton urges all lawmakers in Washington to support fully funding the EPA.
Our union thanks the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force and over 50 House co-signers for advocating for an increase in EPA funding by at least 10% as part of an overdue multi-year effort to re-build EPA’s budget.
“We call on all in Congress to reject Trump’s EPA funding cuts, as the Appropriations Subcommittee did, so that EPA may step up its protection of human health and the environment,” Morton added.
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