What Trump’s budget cuts could mean for the environment
President Donald Trump s first days included a wide range of attacks on environmental and environment initiatives His proposed budget does the same The document circulated Friday looks to curtail or cut billions of dollars for everything from drinking water clean power and weather satellites to national parks crisis management and environmental justice to name a meager That aligns with Trump s aggressive targeting of context strategy and crackdown on diversity initiatives as he pushes fossil fuel expenditure Federal agencies are racing to bolster coal power and oil and gas while blocking renewable potential sources rolling back landmark water and air regulations and attacking scientists in federal weather work tied to environment research The much-anticipated plan will define the Republican president s second term but it s central to note that Congress will ultimately decide the spending plans This skinny budget is a proposal often considered a declaration of the administration s values It includes topline numbers only regarding discretionary spending A more detailed budget is expected soon Here s a look at specific of the environmental and context funding at liability Clean water The proposed budget looks to slash billion in Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds The clean water funds through federal-state partnerships give low-cost financing to communities for water quality infrastructure including municipal wastewater facilities decentralized wastewater rehabilitation systems and more The drinking water funds provide money to states and water systems to help them align with the Safe Drinking Water Act The plan says states should be responsible for funding their own water infrastructure projects but would provide a decreased amount million total to give states time to adjust National Parks The administration is targeting billion in spending cuts to the National Park Provision s operations construction its Historic Preservation Fund and National Recreation and Preservation grants The budget explained the reason for the cuts is because parks get duplicative state local and private sector backing The Utility has been the subject of an aggressive downsizing effort which could impact park hours safety and upkeep Millions of tourists are expected to visit national parks this summer Severe weather reporting and information The weather oceans and fisheries agency the parent agency to the National Weather Utility has been the subject of massive Department of Regime Efficiency layoffs impacting its crucial observations and forecasts The proposal outlines billion in cuts to what it calls climate-dominated NOAA operations research and grants plus infrastructure and satellites It says these are not aligned with the administration ending the Green New Deal referring to the Democrats moonshot plan to combat state change and shift away from fossil fuels The budget says NOAA s educational grant programs have for instance funded efforts to radicalize students against markets and spread environmental alarm Environmental justice While environmental justice was touted under the previous administration the Trump administration has moved to reverse those policies as part of its broader shift from DEI Friday s proposal announced it would remove million in taxpayer funded programs that promote divisive racial discrimination and environmental justice grants that were destined to go to organizations that advance radical ideologies Trump cut White House advisors who worked to ensure the federal ruling body helped communities in heavily-polluted areas and eliminated Biden s Justice initiative that required of the benefits from certain environmental programs go to those communities The Department of Transportation also rescinded Biden-era memos that called on state agencies to factor social and environmental justice into infrastructure decisions Communities near heavy industry ports and highways are often made up largely of Black Latino and low-income Americans Biden s infrastructure law The budget proposal seeks to repeal more than billion of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law named the Infrastructure Stake and Jobs Act passed in The Biden administration s law looked to spur domestic manufacturing improve roads bridges and ports fund cleaner drinking water and other programs Among other things canceling the spending which it calls the Green New Scam would impact key electric van tax credits that have helped boost electric automobile uptake in the U S Removing equity from FEMA money The budget proposes million in cuts to Non-Disaster Federal Urgency Management Agency grant programs FEMA is intended to provide catastrophe response and recovery patronage for states and communities impacted by storms wildfires floods and more Trump has been critical of the agency which helps fund debris removal rebuilding efforts and first responder expenses FEMA has already been politicized in the administration s first days for example its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities venture was ended and the agency s acting director canceled million in grants to New York City finding the money inconsistent with Trump administration priorities The budget says FEMA under the previous administration made equity a top priority for urgency relief and declared that DEI was mandatory referring to diversity equity and inclusion The budget looks to reduce these programs that it calls wasteful and woke Read more of AP s setting coverage at http www apnews com climate-and-environment Alexa St John is an Associated Press setting reporter Follow her on X alexa stjohn Reach her at ast john ap org The Associated Press environment and environmental coverage receives financial advocacy from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org Source
