Trump’s leaked budget would cripple the EPA

The Trump administration’s budget blueprint, leaked over the weekend, includes a massive 24 percent cut to funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—a decrease of nearly $2 billion from the agency’s current budget of about $8.1 billion. This would gut the EPA's spending to levels not seen since the early 1990s and cut staffing by up to 3,000 positions—hobbling the agency from carrying out its mission to safeguard public health and the environment. In addition to setting and enforcing pollution limits that keep America’s air and water clean, the EPA also responds to oil spills, cleans up toxic waste sites, maintains drinking water infrastructure, and manages numerous other programs vital to public health. By drastically slashing the EPA’s budget, the Trump administration promises more exposure to toxins, more contaminated drinking water, and more air pollution that will result in asthma attacks and heart and lung disease for millions of Americans.