The Obama Administration threatened this week to veto a spending bill for the Environmental Protection Agency. The White House called the 11 percent cut in appropriations included in the bill an “unacceptable reduction in funding” that would “significantly undermine” actions the EPA is taking to address climate change and improve air quality. The appropriations bill would reduce the EPA budget by $399 million for 2017. Provisions in the bill also seek to prohibit funding for the Clean Water Rule and the Clean Power Plan by the administration, along with preventing implementation of new protections for pesticide applicators.
EPA funding falls under the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. The bill, H.R. 5538, could be considered in the House as soon as Wednesday.
Source: NAFB News Service