Coalition on Trump Budget: ‘Counting on Congress to Deliver for Great Lakes’

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 23, 2017)—Today the Trump Administration released its full budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, which eliminates core Great Lakes programs and slashes the budget of federal agencies like the U.S. EPA. The budget contains the same cuts that the administration proposed in March, when it released an outline of spending priorities in a so-called “skinny budget.” The proposed 2018 budget—which runs from October 1, 2017 through September 1, 2018—eliminates the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and other core clean water programs that benefit communities large and small in the Great Lake states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. When the Trump Administration first put forward drastic cuts in its fiscal year 2018 budget, a backlash ensued as Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House denounced its draconian cuts. Responding to today’s budget, Todd Ambs, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said: “We’ve seen this movie before. It’s bad and not worth seeing again. So, frankly, it’s time to move on. We’re counting on Congress to deliver for the Great Lakes to make sure the nation continues to make investments that protect our drinking water, jobs, and way of life. Republicans and Democrats have worked together to make the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative an exemplary partnership between the federal government and states that has produced results for our environment and economy. Serious threats remain, however, which is why we look forward to working with bipartisan leaders in the U.S. House and Senate to restore Great Lakes funding that helps protect the drinking water that more than 30 million people depend on.” The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 145 environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos, aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at www.healthylakes.org or follow us on Twitter @healthylakes.