Melissa Williams, melissa.williams@sierraclub.org
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.— President Donald Trump has released the extended budget proposal for FY2017, which includes massive cuts to life-saving programs and agencies, and puts American health and lands at risk.
Trump’s budget includes huge cuts to the EPA’s climate change programs, which are critical for Florida’s resilience against rising global temperatures. Last year was the second hottest year on record in Florida, where our cities, infrastructure, homes and natural ecosystems are among the most vulnerable in the country to sea level rise, which results from a warming planet.
The EPA ensures that our communities are protected from toxic hazards and the impacts of climate change, and also makes sure our water and air are clean.
In Florida, headwater, rain-fed, and seasonal streams contribute to the drinking water supplies of 1.8 million people. The budget for EPA programs to prevent water pollution should not be reduced.
And air quality is also a critical issue for the approximately 1 in 12 Florida adults and 1 in 10 Florida children diagnosed with asthma. From 2009 to 2014, the total number of asthma-related emergency room visits in Florida increased by 22.8 percent, from 85,831 to 105,416.
Yet Trump’s budget proposes slashing the EPA’s budget by nearly a third—a plan for more pollution, less accountability for breaking the law, and worse health for Florida’s families and children.
In response, Frank Jackalone, staff director for the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“This budget puts Floridians at risk, while making corporate polluters rich. It only works for billionaires and CEOs, making deep and painful cuts that sell out our public lands and plays games with our children’s health by decimating vital programs that keep our air and water clean—just to boost the profits of corporate polluters.
“Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart must reject this proposal. If this budget passes, it will result in polluted air and water, as our bedrock protections, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, could go unenforced because of massive budget and staff cuts at the EPA. In Florida alone, we have 1,251 brownfields sites that need to be cleaned up in our communities—but they won’t be if this budget is passed.
“Floridians are watching—and we’ll continue to demand that our voices are heard as Congress sets funding priorities for our government. We need Rep. Diaz-Balart to stand up for our families and reject any cuts that put our children at risk.”
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