WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friends of the Earth activists across the country held rallies, delivered letters and made calls today urging Senators to defend the Environmental Protection Agency from the deep cuts proposed by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress. Government funding is set to expire one week from today. 66,000 people signed petitions, thousands made calls, and over 1,500 people planned in-person letter deliveries and events at Senate offices in 40 cities, all calling on Senators to protect the EPA.
“People across the country are fed up with Congress and this administration giving handouts to corporate polluters,” said Liz Butler, national organizing director for Friends of the Earth. “Activists are rallying and calling into their Senators’ offices today to demand that our elected officials stand up for the EPA and vital environmental protections. We are watching what Congress does, and we will hold each member accountable for their decision to put our clean air and water at risk.”
The Trump Administration sent a budget to Congress calling for a staggering 31 percent cut to the EPA, while Republicans in the House and Senate have written similarly extreme spending bills calling for EPA cuts of nine percent and two percent, respectively. All of these plans would guarantee deep cuts to our environmental protections and other core social programs while giving a free pass to corporate polluters. Friends of the Earth is calling on Senators to commit to filibustering any spending bill that includes budget cuts to the EPA.
“Congress and this administration are trying to stack the deck in favor of polluters and Big Oil special interests,” added Cara Sclafani, a Friends of the Earth activist and mother who planned to join a rally today in front of Senator Chuck Schumer’s Manhattan office. “I am proud to stand with other New York activists to demand that Senator Schumer filibuster any budget that cuts funding for the EPA. Without the critical environmental protections the EPA provides, our planet and our children are at serious risk. We simply cannot compromise their future.”
“In an era where corporate profits are prioritized over the health and wellbeing of the planet and its people, we need to stand up for our rights to clean water, air, and land,” said Sarah Goa, a Friends of the Earth activist in San Francisco who planned to visit Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office today as part of the day of action. “The EPA plays a critical role in these protections, so to drastically reduce its already meager budget would have devastating effects for the future we all share.”
Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]