CLEAN AIR
House Passes Bill to cut E.P.A. Funding
In a narrow 210-205 vote, the House of Representatives passed the FY25 Interior and Environment appropriations bill, that provides funding for the E.P.A. The bill cuts overall E.P.A. funding by $1.8 billion or 20 percent.
Funding for clean air programs were cut by 60 percent and the budget for the Council on Environmental Quality by 80 percent,. The bill completely cut funding for environmental justice programs. The bill does even more damage by including policy riders that block the E.P.A. from taking meaningful action to reduce air pollution and address climate change.
“As experts in respiratory disease and advocates for clean air, we urge the House Appropriations Committee to abandon this legislative assault on the environment and instead provide the E.P.A. with the resources it needs to protect our nation’s environmental health,” said Alison Lee, MD, chair, ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee.
PUBLIC HEALTH
C.D.C. Coalition Urges House to Reject Proposed Budget Cuts
The American Thoracic Society joined with other member organizations of the C.D.C. Coalition to express opposition to the $1.8 billion (22 percent) cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed in the House FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill. In a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, coalition members urge “the House to reject this bill that severely undercuts public health. Instead, we urge you to work in a bipartisan manner to develop a bill that contains robust funding for the agency and rejects controversial policy riders. Due to years of underfunding, many of the C.D.C.’s most effective prevention program are not reaching all states and communities, and the House bill as currently drafted will only exacerbate this problem.”
The House bill would eliminate funding for several C.D.C. programs, including the Tobacco Prevention and Control program and the Climate and Health and Environmental Health Tracking programs.
The House cancelled votes for the week of July 29 and was expected to adjourn for the August recess on July 25. The Labor-H.H.S.-Education spending bill will not be considered by the House until members return after the Labor Day holiday.