Trump Budget Proposal Maintains Steep EPA Cuts

President Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to curtail the Environmental Protection Agency during his campaign last year, and a preliminary budget in March outlined billions in proposed cuts.

This week, the White House officially made good on that promise in the budget sent to Congress.

The Washington Post reports that the budget proposal would slash EPA funding by 31 percent — trimming its budget from $8.2 billion annually to $5.7 billion.

The budget released this week also provided details about numerous environmental programs set to face severe cuts or outright elimination.

The paper reported that funds to clean up contaminated Superfund sites would be slashed, while grants used by states and local governments to address pollution would be cut roughly in half. Projects to restore the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound would lose the entirety of their funding.

The document also confirmed earlier reports that indoor radon and radiation protection programs would be eliminated, and that the EPA's criminal enforcement and climate change research efforts would face steep cuts.

The administration maintained that the proposal would allow the EPA to focus on its core functions, and the Post noted that the budget would maintain select water infrastructure investments and bolster the budget for implementing the nation's new chemical oversight law.

“This budget supports EPA’s highest priorities with federal funding for priority work in infrastructure, air and water quality, and ensuring the safety of chemicals in the marketplace," EPA Administration Scott Pruitt said in a statement.

Critics, however, warned that the reductions would devastate the nation's environmental quality and public health protections.

“With each cut in EPA funding, each regulatory rollback, each special favor for polluters, it becomes more clear that for President Trump, public health protection is not a priority, but a target," said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook.

Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, were again hesitant to embrace many aspects of Trump's budget. Some lawmakers previously suggested that the depth of the EPA cuts, in particular, would not survive the appropriations process.

“There will be some concerns if we go too deep in some of these areas,” said Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C. and chairman of the Republican Study Committee, told the Post.