“The Federal budget is a statement of our values and priorities as a nation.  This budget proposal from the President would lead anyone to believe  we are morally bankrupt. This is not who we are.”

President Trump’s proposed budget would cut the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 31percent, and eliminate 15,000 EPA workers.

A statement by George Goehl, co-director of People’s Action:

“At a time when our environment is under greater threat than ever before, these cuts would mean an untold cost in lives and health. This is just another example of Trump prioritizing corporate profits over ordinary people. If these cuts are enacted, the EPA will lose even more of its capacity to rein in the greed of big energy at the expense of our health.

“Sixty-eight percent of African-Americans live within 30 miles of a coal plant; 80 percent of Latinos live in areas that are failing to meet federal EPA air quality standards. Cities like Flint, Mich., and many others continue to have contaminated water. Coal plants and waste incinerators surround black neighborhoods in cities like Cincinnati where black residents die 20 years younger than their neighbors in whiter and less polluted neighborhoods.

“More than 11,000 uranium mines on Native and federal lands are poisoning the water, the land and the people.

“The Federal budget is a statement of our values and priorities as a nation. This budget proposal from the President would lead anyone to believe we are morally bankrupt. This is not who we are. Since the election, all over the country, unprecedented numbers of us have been raising our voices in defense of our health care, the vitality of our communities and our immigrant neighbors. We’re not going to be silent now.”