The House of Representatives has passed a bill to set the 2025 funding amounts for dozens of federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill features steep budget cuts — a 20% hit to the EPA and a more than 8% decrease to the Fish and Wildlife Service, alarming public health and environmental advocates.
What's happening?
The Republican-led bill was passed closely on July 24, with 210 votes in favor and 205 against. On top of the concerning budget cuts, the legislation also features a long list of policies that further attack endangered wildlife and clean energy.
"This bill would cause irreparable harm to our natural heritage," said Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a press release. "Extremist lawmakers are hellbent on bulldozing decades of progress and steering us toward ecological disaster, damn the consequences."
The legislation will now go to the Senate for debate, and if approved there, the President can sign it into law.
Why is this funding proposal concerning?
The bill's budget cuts and all its additional policies are red flags, noted the Center for Biological Diversity. For example, the EPA's ability to address cancer-causing and dangerous pesticides would be neutralized, allowing that industry to assess its own impact on human health and the environment.
The legislation would also prevent restrictions on lead in ammunition or fishing gear and pave the way for more resources to go toward polluting energy sources such as oil and gas.
Federal protection of vulnerable species was also undermined, from gray wolves in almost all lower 48 states to grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region. The bill put at least six other already-threatened species at greater risk, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
While some bipartisan provisions were included in the bill — such as increased pay for federal wildfire fighters — its early success may be short-lived once in front of the Democrat-majority Senate, reported E&E News.
"Climate change is a clear and present danger, and experts agree that we must take bold action to avoid major, irreversible catastrophe," Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine who is the top party rep on the House subcommittee responsible for the bill, said on the floor this week, according to NewsNation. "So, I am greatly disappointed and frustrated by the bill before us that completely disregards the reality of a warming planet and ignores the need for us to do more, not less.
"This bill abandons our most vulnerable groups that currently bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts, which includes large swaths of rural communities that I, and many of my colleagues across the aisle, represent."
No matter what happens next, the drastic fiscal drawdown shows the Republican party's clear priority to roll back changes made by the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate package ever sent through Congress.
The environment is not always a polarizing issue, and other congressional bills have resulted in positive change. However, Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chair of the House committee proposing the bill, affirmed that the intent was to curtail Biden's green initiatives, according to E&E News.
What can be done about the bill's potential impact?
Conservation groups are already spreading the word about the threats of this legislation should it become law. Tap into your local groups and see how you can support their efforts.
Using your own voice is powerful, too, from casting your vote to advocating in your personal life for the eco-friendly change you want to see. Imagining ways to achieve a cleaner, greener future is as timely as ever, with the 2024 election just a few months away.
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