Report: WE ACT Highlights Impacts of Proposed EPA Budget Cuts on Vulnerable Communities

Nov 13, 2017

Athena Motavvef

  • Press Release

    • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    November 13, 2017
    Contact: Athena Motavvef, 202-548-4585, athena@weact.org

    Washington, DC — The EPA’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget is essential to communities across the United States that rely on EPA funding to ensure they live in a safe and healthy community. The budget proposed by the Trump administration would cut EPA funding by 31%. The House has adopted an EPA budget that cuts funding by 8% from 2017 levels. The Senate has not yet voted on an appropriations bill for the environment.

    In response to the proposed budget cuts, WE ACT for Environmental Justice has developed “Dirty Facts: How EPA Budget Cuts Impact Vulnerable Communities” a series of fact sheets summarizing the potential impacts on critical states. We encourage communities to use the fact sheets to directly advocate their representatives for stronger funding in 2018. The states that are featured in the fact sheets include New York, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alaska, Illinois, New Jersey, and South Carolina.

    Each state’s fact sheet contains an analysis that compares the 2018 Fiscal Year budget proposed by the White House and the House budget and the 2017 Fiscal Year budget. The cuts are categorized into environmental justice, hazardous waste sites, lead, water, air, and tribal grants.

    Among the cuts of heightened concern for EJ communities nationwide in the Fiscal 2018 proposed budgets are:

    • The Office of Environmental Justice will be eliminated under the White House budget, and reduced 15% by the House budget.
    • The Superfund and brownfield program funding decreases by 43% and 37%, respectively, under the White House Budget.
    • The Toxic Substances: Lead Risk Reduction program would be eliminated under the White House budget
    • The Drinking Water program would be reduced by 18.91% under the White House budget.
    • The Clean Air programs would be reduced by 47% under the White House Budget, and 17% by the House budget.

    “The adopted EPA budget by the House, while less egregious than the White House budget, still does not do enough to protect communities of color throughout the United States. The budget continues to cut programs essential to vulnerable communities. The Office of Environmental Justice, which many of our allies around the country work closely with, ensures EPA considers low income communities and communities of color in all their policies and practices. Many families are facing environmental injustices in their communities and we expect further health disparities without proper EPA funding.” said Dr. Adrienne Hollis, Federal Policy Director at WE ACT.

    To view and download the fact sheets, please visit: weact.org/epacuts2018

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    WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in Harlem, NYC and Washington, DC. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Twitter @weact4ej.