Moran, Conservation Groups Stand Against Cuts to Environment

Press Release

Today Representatives Jim Moran (VA-08), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), and John Sarbanes (MD-03) joined conservation groups from across the nation to speak out against harmful cuts to programs tasked with protecting our water, air, public lands, and wildlife. The Republican Continuing Resolution, H.R.1, cuts programs within the Interior and Environment by more than 14 percent.

Joining the Democratic Congressmen at today's press conference were the following organizations: National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Izaak Walton League of America, River Network, Choose Clean Water Coalition, and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies.

Included in the Republican Continuing Resolution (CR) is the elimination of the successful Fish and Wildlife Service's State and Tribal Wildlife grants and the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grants. Additionally, the CR cuts EPA's drinking and waster water programs by nearly $2 billion and the Land and Water Conservation Fund by 87 percent.

"Protecting our environment should not be a partisan issue," said Congressman Moran, Ranking Member on the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. "Instead of addressing the real causes of our budget deficit or eliminating the nearly $40 billion in subsidies to big oil companies, the Republican leadership has chosen to sharply cut or eliminate programs that keep our water drinkable and air breathable. This is no way to balance a budget."

"What the House majority has done is launch a radical attack on our land, on our air, and on our water. The damage they would inflect would be lasting and damaging. We dare not let these drastic cuts go through," Congressman Holt (D-NJ) said.

"This isn't just about the environmental and health damage these cuts will cause, it's about the fact that Republicans aren't being honest with the American people about their motivations," Congressman Grijalva (D-AZ) said. "They're undoing decades of conservation work through the back door and calling it fiscal responsibility. This is the opposite of what people want from their elected leaders, and I sincerely hope voters make their opinions known before it's too late."

"At a time when our nation is facing a multitude of environmental problems, the Republican budget declares open season for polluters," said Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD). "Slashing our investments in alternative energy research and environmental protection will halt progress in these areas and slow innovation."

"Corporate polluters took advantage of a budget bill to take an eraser to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and other bedrock environmental laws that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the wildlife we cherish," said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president, National Wildlife Federation. "These attacks had nothing to do with cutting the federal budget, but everything to do with increasing polluter profits at the expense of our public health and environment."

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