Washington, D.C. - United States - June 17, 2024: Exterior of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Building FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2024
CONTACT:
Steven Fantes, Public Affairs Manager
617-817-1297 and steven.fantes@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
The Environmental Protection Network Applauds Bipartisan Senate Effort to Protect EPA from Extreme Funding Cuts
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed (210-205) an EPA appropriations bill along partisan lines. House Republicans supported the plan to slash EPA funding by 20%. The bill includes cuts of 30% or more for EPA science and regulatory programs, and eliminates the environmental justice program established to ensure that all communities enjoy the full protection of our environmental laws. The House bill also blocks EPA’s clean car rules and Clean Power Plan and rejects eight of the Biden-Harris administration’s climate change executive orders.
In contrast, today the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan EPA appropriations bill 28-1. The bill includes a modest funding increase for EPA and rejects the extreme policy riders that House Republicans have advanced.
In response, Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor at the Environmental Protection Network and former Climate Policy Advisor at EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, released the following statement:
“The Senate’s bipartisan approach to funding EPA is a breath of clean air compared to the extreme and toxic bill passed by House Republicans. The choice is clear. The polluter lobbyists who helped write Project 2025 favor the House bill because it weakens EPA and allows polluters to put profits ahead of public health. The bipartisan Senate approach allows EPA to do its job protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink from polluters.”
Jeremy Symons is available to speak to the media about the proposed spending bills and their effects on public health and the environment.
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About Jeremy Symons: Jeremy Symons is Principal of Symons Public Affairs and a Senior Advisor for the Environmental Protection Network. He is a former Climate Policy Advisor for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.
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ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
Founded in 2017, the Environmental Protection Network harnesses the expertise of more than 650 former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former scientists and regulators with decades of historical knowledge and subject matter expertise.