Great Lakes Coalition: House Budget a ‘Disaster for Clean Water’
Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition
Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Great Lakes Coalition: House Budget a ‘Disaster for Clean Water’
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (July 20, 2023)—The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations released its fiscal year 2024 Interior and Environment funding bills. The Republican budget being considered holds the line on Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding at $368 million (level with current funding), but eviscerates other core clean water programs, including steep cuts to the EPA budget and assistance to states and Tribal governments by zeroing out programs to help communities most impacted by pollution and the slashing of water infrastructure investments.
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is urging members of Congress to reject the budget.
Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:
“The proposed budget is a disaster for clean water. The budget is bad for our environment, public health, and way of life, and it is a slap in the face to the millions of people in the Great Lakes who still grapple with unsafe drinking water due to toxic pollution and lead, contaminated fish due to cancer-causing chemicals, and closed beaches due to sewage contamination.
“At a time when so many cities and towns are living with unsafe water, we need to be doing more, not less, to protect our drinking water and the health of our towns and cities. The House budget not only takes us in the wrong direction – it takes us over a cliff.
“House budget cuts will mean communities cannot replace toxic lead pipes that carry drinking water to people’s homes. House budget cuts will mean that the communities that have been most impacted by pollution and environmental harm cannot get the help they need to protect their drinking water and public health. House budget cuts will mean communities will not be able to fix water infrastructure that delivers drinking water to people’s homes and ensures that we prevent sewage from contaminating our waterways. House budget cuts will mean communities will not get help dealing with increased flooding. These cuts will mean less enforcement of our clean water laws and pollution prevention programs that hold polluters accountable and ensure we all have access to clean, safe, and affordable water.
“Maintaining funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is not enough and does not make up for the steep cuts to programs that are helping provide drinking water to families and communities across the nation. Cutting these programs will not save the nation one penny. In fact, they will cost the nation more money by kicking the can down the road, allowing problems to get worse and most costly to solve. We urge members of the Great Lakes delegation to reject this budget and work to craft one that supports clean water programs that benefit our environment, economy, and communities.”
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee favorably reported this proposal to the full House for consideration on a partisan vote of 33-27. Further consideration of the bill is expected in the coming weeks. For additional information on the budget, view our funding chart and a summary of topline numbers.
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 175 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter @HealthyLakes.
