EPA Funding

Protecting our environment takes more than new legislation. It also requires vigorous enforcement of our current laws. It is crucial that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has all the tools and resources it needs to enforce the laws we already have on the books. To that end, I passed an amendment to the FY2004 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act that restored funding for the EPA's enforcement division. For the third year in a row, the Bush administration tried to significantly reduce the funds available for enforcement personnel at the EPA, which already lacks the resources to take polluters to trial.

Enforcement of our existing environmental laws is one of the most important roles the EPA plays. Without a strong federal enforcement program, the public health protections afforded under our laws are denied to many of our citizens. Pollution knows no boundaries and our constituents depend on the EPA to deal with interstate pollution and to ensure that corporations and major industrial sectors comply with environmental standards. Enforcement of our environmental laws has produced some spectacular successes in the past, but that record is threatened as the program is slowly being drained of resources by the Bush administration. I am pleased the House passed my amendment, and I will continue working to ensure sure the EPA receives adequate funding.