- In his first official cabinet meeting of his second term, President Trump indicated that he plans to cut EPA by 65%, which would mean that as many as 10,000 of EPA’s 15,000 scientists, engineers, and enforcement experts would no longer protect the public from toxic polluters.
- Here’s an excerpt of what former EPA Administrators William K. Reilly, Christine Todd Whitman, and Gina McCarthy had to say about Trump’s plans in an Oped:
“As former E.P.A. heads under both Republican and Democratic administrations, we fear that such cuts would render the agency incapable of protecting Americans from grave threats in our air, water and land. While there are opportunities to make the agency more efficient and better at enforcing laws, Americans across every state, city and local community would suffer the effects of deep staff cuts. E.P.A. public servants defend us and the environment from harmful pollution every day, not in hopes of attention or bigger paychecks, or to execute the wishes, wants or needs of billionaires looking to play on a bigger stage. They do it for all Americans and because of laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
- The Trump Administration’s plans to roll back tailpipe and smokestack standards will lead to 100 million asthma attacks and cause 200,000 premature deaths that could be avoided if we leave the standards in place.
- The Trump Administration’s plans to weaken enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act will leave communities across the country vulnerable to drinking water contamination without anyone held accountable.
- Efforts to weaken EPA will lead to more climate pollution, putting our safety, health and economy at risk from fires, storms, floods and droughts.