Cuts to Clean Water Programs Threaten Public Health
Statement by Rebecca Wodder, President of American Rivers:
The Republican House Majority’s recent budget proposal is nothing short of a frontal assault on programs that protect the health and safety of America’s water.
While we can all agree that we need to reduce our nation’s deficits, we should also all agree that we need to make those cuts with the economic well-being and the health and safety of Americans as priorities. The deep cuts contained in the Republican Majority’s budget fail that test.
The cuts to the clean water and drinking water infrastructure programs virtually ensure that more Americans will get sick from drinking or swimming in polluted water.
The budget rider prohibiting EPA from giving clear guidance on which bodies of water deserve Clean Water Act protections will not save the federal government one dime. But it will reward corporate polluters. That’s not fiscal discipline; that’s politics as usual. And we can’t afford that.
We need a budget that protects America’s drinking water and protects America’s rivers for our children and grandchildren.
Learn more: Congress to Slash Clean Water Protections?
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American Rivers is the leading organization working to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams. Rivers connect us to each other, nature, and future generations. Since 1973, American Rivers has fought to preserve these connections, helping protect and restore more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and the annual release of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 100,000 supporters, members, and volunteers nationwide. Visit www.americanrivers.org, www.facebook.com/americanrivers and www.twitter.com/americanrivers.
