While there is a good deal of hand wringing in the ag media about the proposed cuts at USDA in the budget proposal released on Tuesday, the budget ax falls the hardest on the EPA. The proposed budget from the White House hits the EPA with a 31 percent budget cut, down to $5.65 billion. The plan eliminates several regional programs, including those that restore the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and Puget Sound. It slashes funding for the Superfund Cleanup Program. Despite the cut to the Superfund, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt lists the program as one of his biggest priorities. Pruitt said the president’s budget respects the American taxpayer. “This budget supports EPA’s highest priorities with federal funding for priority work in infrastructure, air and water quality,” Pruitt says, “and it ensures the safety of chemicals in the marketplace.” The proposal does maintain funding for high priority infrastructure investments like grants and low-cost funding for projects that improve drinking water quality and wastewater treatment.
Source: NAFB News Service