Hi again,

 

Below is my sample email to MOC LA and LDs.

 

Please feel free to use this as you see fit. This push is important as the House Interior-Enviro Approps Subcommittee is marking up its FY20 bill on Wed, May 15.

 

Our internal tracking doc is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VgbDVy52SkMbvuecFFs4tBqLBjEjQ-6WvwCKJI1sgvg/edit?usp=sharing. Please identify who you reach out to on the google doc.

 

Thanks!

MV

 

Melissa Vargas
Manager, Political Affairs

EDF Action
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW

Washington, DC  20009

T 202 572 3345  C 202 670 0673

 

mvargas@edfaction.org
edfaction.org

 

 

 ___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Hi XXXXX,

 

The United for Climate and Environmental Justice Congressional Task Force is circulating a Dear Colleague in support of EPA funding for Fiscal Year 2020.

 

Please find below Representatives Barragán, Jayapal, and McEachin’s Dear Colleague and Letter to Appropriators.

 

If you have any questions about the letter and/or want to sign on please reach out to:

·        Corey Solow in Rep. McEachin’s office at corey.solow@mail.house.gov

·        Lylianna Allala in Rep. Jayapal’s office at lylianna.allala@mail.house.gov

·        Ricardo Pacheco in Rep. Barragán’s office at ricardo.pacheco@mail.house.gov

 

Sign on deadline is COB Wednesday, May 15, 2019.

 

We hope your boss will be able to support the EPA and it’s important work by signing on this letter!

 

Thank you,

Melissa

 

 

Dear Colleague,  

 

Please join us in sending the following letter to Chairwoman Nita Lowey and Ranking Member Kay Granger urging them to reject President Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 proposal to slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to instead increase funding by at least 10 percent over FY 2019 enacted levels. Doing so would help reverse years of underfunding at this critical agency.

 

As co-chairs of the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force, we stand united in our support of adequately funding the EPA. President Trump’s proposal to cut the EPA’s budget by 31 percent, combined with the ongoing roll-back of critical public health safeguards, would have devastating consequences for all people, but especially for vulnerable communities across the country. These cuts would eliminate or drastically reduce funds to ensure access to clean air and water, address pollution from lead, and clean up contaminated industrial sites, among many other needed programs.

 

At a time when communities are fighting to protect their members’ health and improve environmental quality, the federal government should be funding essential safeguards—not slashing air monitoring protections and shutting down hazardous waste clean-up programs. Building an America where all families can thrive—no matter their zip code—requires a well-funded EPA.

 

If you would like to sign on to this letter or have any questions, please contact Corey Solow in Rep. McEachin’s office at corey.solow@mail.house.gov, Lylianna Allala in Rep. Jayapal’s office at lylianna.allala@mail.house.gov, or Ricardo Pacheco in Rep. Barragán’s office at ricardo.pacheco@mail.house.gov. Deadline is COB Wednesday, May 15, 2019.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

A. Donald McEachin                         Pramila Jayapal                                   Nanette Diaz Barragán

Member of Congress                          Member of Congress                          Member of Congress

 

Program Comparisons: FY19 vs. FY20

●       https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-03/documents/fy-2020-epa-bib.pdf

 

 

Program	FY19 Funded (in thousands)	FY20 Budget (in thousands)	Difference
Enforcement, Environmental Justice (pg. 59)	$6,737	$2,739	- $3,998 (60% cut)
Toxic Risk Review and Prevention, Pollution Prevention Programs (pg. 61)	$11,236	$0	- $11,236 (eliminated)
Toxic Risk Review and Prevention, Toxic Substances: Lead Risk Reduction Program (pg. 61)	$12,627	$0	- $12,627 (eliminated)
Hazardous Substance Superfund, Enforcement, Environmental Justice (pg. 62)	$758	$0	- $758 (eliminated)
State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Infrastructure Assistance: Alaska Native Villages (pg. 64)	$20,000	$3,000	- $17,000 (85% cut)
State and Tribal Assistance Grants, Safe Water for Small & Disadvantaged Communities (pg. 65)	$20,000	0	- $20,000 (eliminated)
Categorical Grants, State and Local Air Quality Management (pg. 65)	$228,219	$151,961	- $76,258 (34% cut)

 

 

May xx, 2019

 

 

The Honorable Nita Lowey

Chairwoman, Committee on Appropriations

H-307, The Capitol

Washington, D.C. 20515

 

The Honorable Kay Granger

Ranking Member, Committee on Appropriations

1016 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger:

 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays a critical role in ensuring that all people in the United States enjoy clean air and water, and that the effects of pollution on health and the environment are minimized. The agency, however, cannot execute these functions without robust funding. Shamefully, President Trump proposes to cut the EPA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget by 31 percent (or $2.76 billion dollars)[1]. Combined with ongoing rollbacks of critical public health safeguards, these cuts would have devastating consequences for all, but especially for vulnerable communities across the country. These cuts would eliminate or drastically reduce funds intended to ensure access to clean air and water, address pollution from lead, and clean up contaminated industrial sites, among many other much-needed programs. We strongly oppose President Trump’s proposal to slash funding for the EPA, and we urge you to instead increase funding.

 

Even if Congress were to maintain the EPA’s current funding level, the agency would still be underfunded by at least $10 billion relative to enacted levels, adjusted for inflation, in the 1980s.[2]  Since the 1980s, however, Congress has repeatedly added to the EPA’s responsibilities by enacting new mandates and programs. Accordingly, we recommend that the Committee increase FY 2020 funding by at least 10 percent over FY 2019 enacted levels, as part of an overdue multi-year effort to re-build the EPA’s budget so it can most effectively do its job for all people in the United States.

 

No one should have to live with preventable health threats to themselves, their families, or their communities. Sadly, millions of people in our country lack access to clean air and water, resulting in poor health outcomes and increased financial burdens, especially for marginalized families. Our under-investment in the EPA puts lives at risk and further burdens the most marginalized members of society, including rural and low-income communities and communities of color.

 

Recent findings from the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment have once again shown that people of color are more likely to live near refineries and factories and face higher levels of exposure to harmful pollution such as smog and automobile fumes. The study specifically affirms that racial minorities tend to be disproportionately burdened by environmental health hazards.[3] A March 2019 report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America reaffirms the unfair consequences of these environmental injustices. The study concludes that African-Americans and Hispanics or Latinos experience an air “pollution burden,” facing 56 percent and 63 percent more exposure, respectively, than they generate.[4] Not only does this disproportionate pollution intensify susceptibility to asthma and other respiratory illnesses, but it also leads to more emergency room visits for members of vulnerable communities.[5]

 

Despite these facts, the administration’s FY 2020 budget request targets programs that protect everyone, but especially those that affect the well-being of marginalized communities. That proposal:

 

●       reduces state and local grants that support funding for programs such as air quality monitoring by 34 percent;[6]

●       eliminates grants to help small and disadvantaged communities comply with safe drinking water standards;[7]

●       eliminates funding for grants to fight lead poisoning such as the Lead Risk Reduction Program;[8]

●       eliminates funding for Environmental Justice enforcement of Superfund sites[9] and reduces funding for Environmental Justice enforcement of environmental programs by almost 60 percent;[10] and

●       reduces infrastructure assistance to Native Alaskan villages by 85 percent.[11]

 

At a time when communities are fighting to protect their health and improve environmental quality, the federal government should be funding essential safeguards—not slashing air monitoring protections and cutting hazardous waste clean-up programs.  

 

We believe our country has a moral obligation to protect public health and our environment for this generation and the next; we urge you to meet this obligation by rejecting the administration’s budget, and instead increasing EPA funding. Together, we can build an America where all families can thrive — no matter their zip code.

 

Sincerely,