House prepares to gut EPA, Interior
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House begins debate today on HR 2822, The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill of 2016. The bill would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by $718 million, nine percent below current levels, and includes more than 20 policy riders designed to block key regulatory measures such as new rules on fracking, the Clean Power Plan and ozone pollution limits.
The Obama administration has announced it would veto the bill in its current form, but votes on the full bill and amendments are expected after the House returns from recess in early July.
Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Campaigner Lukas Ross offers the following statement in response:
This toxic mix of spending cuts and riders hardly deserves to be called an appropriations bill. It is a gift from Republican leadership to Big Oil and other polluters. John Boehner and his cohorts are offering their corporate cronies a toothless EPA, unable to enforce our most basic environmental protections.
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Expert contact: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]