Coalition: Trump Budget Fails to Deliver for Great Lakes, Communities

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (March 11, 2019) – The Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts funding for core Great Lakes restoration programs, fails to boost water infrastructure funding to keep pace with community needs, and guts budgets for agencies charged with carrying out clean water restoration and enforcement—leaving the budget a non-starter, according to the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. Chad Lord, policy director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:“The Trump Administration’s budget fails the Great Lakes and the communities which depend on them for their drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life. This is unfortunate, not unexpected, and—most importantly—not going to deter us from doing what we need to do to ensure that every person in the region has access to clean, safe, and affordable water.“The Trump Administration has tried this each year of his presidency, and each time the U.S. Congress has refused to cut federal Great Lakes programs that are producing results in communities across the region. Congressional leaders understand that cutting programs will only make projects more difficult and expensive the longer we wait. So, we once again look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass a budget that does not shy away from addressing the serious challenges that need to be addressed—a budget that protects our Great Lakes, public health, environment, economy, and quality of life.”The Trump Administration’s proposed budget includes:

• $30 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative ($270 million less than FY19 funding)
• $1.12 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund ($574 million less than FY19 funding)
• $863 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund ($300 million less than FY19 funding)
• $6.068 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency ($2.76 billion less than FY19 funding)

 Resources:General budget: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/budget-fy2020.pdfEPA programs: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-03/documents/fy-2020-epa-bib.pdf