Petition: Tell Senate Democrats to resist the right wing’s funding cuts on climate change

The petition to Senate Committee on Appropriations Vice Chair Patrick Leahy and Senate Democrats on the Committee on Appropriations reads: "Hold the line against funding cuts to climate action, science and preparedness. Fully fund NASA's Earth science missions, NOAA's weather satellites, U.S. contributions to international climate funds, the EPA and all other crucial climate-related programs and agencies." Add your name:

Faced with deadly hurricanes that have caused billions of dollars in damage, historic flooding that has destroyed entire communities and deadly wildfires that are raging unchecked in California, what did extreme right-wing House Republicans decide to cut in their budget? Weather satellites. NASA climate research. Regulations on methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Funds to help developing nations adapt to climate change. House Republicans slashed these and other science and environmental programs – all to pay for tax cuts for their wealthy donors. Their budget is a Koch brothers dream come true, an anti-environmental wish list for right-wing billionaires. The Senate will vote on its own budget any day now. Unless Democrats on the Appropriations Committee stand strong in defending environmental protection and research, we will lose crucial climate programs – at a time when taking action is more critical than ever. Tell Senate Democrats: Hold the line against funding cuts to climate action, science and preparedness. Click here to sign the petition. In their budget, House Republicans reduced funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by a staggering $534 million from last year's levels, a cut that would require massive layoffs of scientists and enforcement staff.1 They also specified that the EPA cannot use funds to enforce two key climate rules – one that regulates methane pollution and another that allows the EPA to factor in the social cost of climate change when creating regulations.2 Not only do Republican right-wing extremists want to stop fighting climate change, they want to prevent scientists from even studying it. Their budget cuts NASA's Earth science missions by more than $200 million from 2017 levels, and eliminates funding for a key NASA satellite that would provide long-term data on global atmospheric and oceanic conditions.3 They also cut funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for two polar-orbiting satellites,4 which are the most important satellites for accurately predicting weather three days and beyond.5 Tell Senate Democrats: Hold the line against funding cuts to climate action, science and preparedness. If the right-wing Republican ideologues ram through this draconian budget without Democratic resistance, the devastating budget cuts would make us less safe and less prepared for the future in our warming world. Fortunately, the Kochbots leading the House of Representatives do not get the final say on the budget. The Senate now has to pass their own version, and then negotiators will settle on a final budget compromise. The Senate has already passed legislation covering some parts of the budget, including a bill that would restore funding for NASA's Earth science missions and NOAA's polar satellites.7 However, many parts of the Senate budget, including funding for the EPA, are still unknown. We need to make sure that Senate Democrats do not cave by agreeing to any compromises that cut funding to climate programs. Tell Senate Democrats: Hold the line against funding cuts to climate action, science and preparedness. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/fund-climate?t=8&akid=25514%2E3130208%2EGtoAl3 - Brandy Doyle, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: House Republican Policy Committee, "H.R. 3354, Make America Secure And Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018." Accessed Oct. 12, 2017. Georgina Gustin, "U.S. House Votes to Block Climate Rules, Using Critical Budget Bill," InsideClimate News, Sept. 13, 2017. Jeff Foust, "House spending bill increases NASA planetary science, cuts NOAA weather satellite program," SpaceNews, July 12, 2017. Ibid. Joint Polar Satellite System, "NOAA'S Polar Follow-on/JPSS-3 AND -4 satellites in final FY 2016 appropriations bill," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, Feb. 8, 2016. Jeff Foust, "Senate restores funding for NASA Earth science and satellite servicing programs," SpaceNews, July 27, 2017. Ibid. Related:  Fightback begins over Trump's 'illegal and irresponsible' clean power repeal  excerpt below: Pruitt – who is currently under investigation over his use of taxpayer-funded flights – has said he would ideally “do away” with tax credits for wind and solar so they can “stand on their own and compete against coal and natural gas and other sources”. He made no mention of axing subsidies enjoyed for decades by oil, coal and gas producers. This month, researchers at Oil Change International estimated that the US provides around $20bn a year in subsidies to fossil fuels, through incentives, credits, low royalty rates and other measures.

The Arctic Extinction Game: brought to you by President Trump and oil/gas drilling.

Wanna play? 

According to President Trump, gutting the programs that safeguard our environment and health isn't enough. His new budget would also open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to dirty, dangerous oil and gas drilling.

The Arctic Refuge in Alaska is our nation's largest denning site for pregnant polar bears. It's the last home to hundreds of shaggy muskoxen. It's a birthing ground for tens of thousands of Porcupine caribou. We should protect this untouched wilderness with everything we've got — not turn it over to fossil fuel companies that would decimate this natural treasure to make a quick buck.

Tell Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain and Rep. Martha McSally to protect the Arctic Refuge by opposing Trump's disastrous budget plan.

President Trump just released his detailed budget plan to fund the government next year, and the cuts are horrifying.

The budget slashes funding for nearly every program to protect our environment, our climate, our lands and our health — all to fund massive tax cuts for corporate polluters.

Only Congress can stop him now. Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain and Representative Martha McSally need to hear from you today, Jana. Tell them to stop Trump's draconian budget plan from ever becoming law!

This so-called "plan" is a colossal tax break for the corporate polluters who back Trump and his anti-environment allies in the House and Senate.

If this budget makes it through Congress, the impacts on our environment and our public health could hurt generations of Americans.

Here's a small sample of some of the most egregious cuts:

*A 31% cut to the EPA's budget, eliminating a quarter of its staff and slashing enforcement, clean water, clean air, toxic cleanup and energy efficiency programs — crippling the agency's ability to fulfill its mission of protecting the environment and our health. Contact your legislators now and tell them it's unacceptable. 

*A 70% cut to programs to expand energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies and clean energy jobs. Your representatives need to hear from you. 

*Huge cuts to the Interior Department, which oversees national parks and public lands, while assuming massive revenue increases from ramped up fossil fuel development on public lands. Tell Congress to stop this dirty budget NOW! 

*Severe reductions to NASA and NOAA climate change monitoring and adaptation programs, depriving us of knowledge we need to effectively fight climate change and prepare for more extreme weather scenarios. Don't wait to take action.

It's Congress's responsibility to stop this dangerous plan in its tracks. We need to start fresh with a responsible budget that puts people first — not polluters. But many legislators won't risk going against the White House unless they know that pro-environment voters like you are watching and prepared to rise up against those who sell out our planet and our public health.

Tell Congress to oppose this budget — an outrageous, all-out assault on our right to a safe and healthy environment.

Trump's dirty budget won't be finalized until fall, so in the weeks and months ahead, NRDC Action Fund and NRDC will be pushing back — and pushing back hard. NRDC policy experts are working on Capitol Hill to line up opposition in Congress. And we'll mobilize our hundreds of thousands of supporters via online petition drives, phone banks, town halls and face-to-face meetings with representatives.

Together, we will send a message to Washington and the world loud and clear: We refuse to allow President Trump and his allies in Congress to use the federal budget to devastate our environment and violate our rights... all to fund tax cuts for corporate polluters.

- Rhea Suh, President, NRDC Action Fund

Tell Congress: Reject Any Budget That Attacks the EPA

President Trump's proposed budget demands the EPA's funds be drastically cut. But the EPA's budget is already about as low as it can get—it accounts for just 0.22% of the federal budget. The proposed cuts are so outrageous that members of the President's own party are speaking out.

"There's not that much in the EPA [budget] for crying out loud," said Mike Simpson (R-ID), the chairman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Committee. "EPA has been cut by over 20 percent in the last few years. The discretionary budget has been lowered pretty dramatically compared to how it was in 2009, and it's under what Paul Ryan thought it would be in his budget," explained Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK).

We need to keep stoking this opposition on both sides of the aisle—because too much is at risk. Tell your members of Congress to protect the EPA.

Message you will be signing:

I am writing today in strong opposition to President Trump's proposal to cut the EPA's budget. This crucial agency, tasked with ensuring all Americans have access to air that is safe to breathe and water that is clean to drink, is already operating with limited funds, as its budget has already been cut by over 20 percent in just the last few years.

Americans want a strong EPA. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion survey released in mid-January highlighted that more than 4 out of 5 Americans want EPA's authority preserved or strengthened under the Trump Administration. Yet current reports suggest the Administration would cut the agency's funds by a quarter, taking aim at their ability to support brownfields industrial site cleanup (slashing that budget by 42%), state grants addressing the lead epidemic (cut by 30%), and funding to help native tribes combat pollution (also cut by 30%).

We simply cannot allow this to happen. States are heavily reliant on the EPA's expert analysis and support. Without that help, they will be handcuffed to protect citizens.

Please fight to protect the health and safety of your constituents. Oppose these senseless attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency. Our communities are counting on your leadership.

5 devastating budget cuts!

Trump's cuts will be more devastating than I thought!  

This is’t a ‘worst-case scenario’ anymore: Trump has made his proposed budget public.¹ As expected, the cuts are reckless

Trump wants to cut a whopping $57 billion from critical domestic programs — starving communities of resources needed to thrive and slashing critical environmental protections — all in order to spend even more on defense contractors and military buildup abroad.

The good news: Trump's proposal is far from final. It's up to Congress to pass a final budget — and that's still months away. We MUST react quickly to show how outrageous Trump's plan really is: Tell your members of Congress to reject Trump's anti-American agenda.

Trump's proposed budget is hundreds of pages long, and there's a lot of bad stuff in there. Here are five of the very worst components:

1 - Trump wants to gut the EPA protections. The Environmental Protection Agency was created to enforce laws like the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Air Act that save countless lives every year — but Trump is doing everything he can to cripple the agency's ability to do its job. He wants to cut staff (including career scientists), dismantle key programs like the Environmental Justice enforcement program, end grants to states for issues like lead poisoning, eliminate regional water cleanup efforts and slash funding for enforcement activities.

2 - Trump wants to cut renewable energy. Jobs in renewable energy are outpacing fossil fuels by nearly 4 to 1 — yet Trump wants to cut renewable energy and energy efficiency by 70% in the federal budget.² Investing in renewable energy is not just cost effective, it will create jobs, improve public health and help us prevent the unpredictable and dangerous impacts of climate change. We absolutely cannot let Trump grant the fossil fuel industry their number one wish. Our planet is out of time — we must move America OFF fossil fuels immediately.

3 - Trump wants to put Wall Street in charge of our nation's water systems. While infrastructure investment is desperately needed in our country, Trump’s budget would rely on private financing, which has a nasty track record of costing taxpayers more money than publicly run infrastructure. What we actually need is dedicated, national funding for our infrastructure – like the WATER Act.

4 - Trump wants to cut food stamps by $193 billion and cut food safety staff. Almost 44 million people received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance in 2016, meaning that cuts to this program would affect tens of millions of people and make it harder for them to get the food they need.³ Trump's budget would also cut funding for the Food and Drug Administration's food safety program, including reducing staff levels, and would cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which tracks and responds to foodborne illness outbreaks.

5 - Trump wants to end reporting on carbon emissions and cut climate programs. In doing so, Trump would devastate progress we’ve made on limiting climate change pollution. And his plans to end programs designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions is a nod to the oil and gas industry — an industry to which his cabinet has disturbingly close ties.⁴

It's up to us — people across the country with a direct line to our members of Congress — to demand they REJECT Trump's plans.

We still have time, but you need to act now: Send a strong message today to oppose Trump's dangerous budget!


Miranda Carter
Food & Water Watch
act.fwwatch.org

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1. Trump proposes dramatic changes to federal government, slashing safety net programs that affect up to a fifth of Americans, Washington Post, May 23, 2017.
2. Solar Employs More People In U.S. Electricity Generation Than Oil, Coal And Gas Combined, Forbes, January 25, 2017.
3. Trump to propose big cuts to safety net in new budget, slashing Medicaid and opening door to other limits,Washington Post, May 21, 2017.
4. Trump's Budget Slashes Climate Change Funding, NPR, March 16, 2017.

Good news! Our activism pays off as Trump's budget is rejected

Some good news! Our activism has paid off! In the spending agreement that was reached last night to keep the government funded until the end of September:

*Trump's wall did not get funded. 1) The measure that did get passed put a strict limit on the amount of money that can be used for border security - making it almost impossible for Trump to pay for starting his wall. 2) No funding can be cut for "sanctuary cities." 3) No money for a deportation force in ICE.

*Trump wanted to cut the National Institutes of Health by 1/3. But it got a 2 billion dollar boost!

*Trump wanted cuts in all scientific inquiry.. But there were nearly NO cuts in scientific budgets.

*Instead of the 1/3 cut in the EPA, it was cut by just 1% and there were no staff cuts.

*No cuts in Planned Parenthood!

*Trump got 1/2 of what he wanted for the military.

*They did not fund the justice department in stopping medical marijuana in states where it was legalized.

*The subsidies built into the affordable care act will continue.

The United States and the American people came out on top! This gives me hope in our checks and balances and that our activism is working!

But our activism continues to be important. This spending agreement lasts until September.  Trump will continue to enact executive orders and his cabinet members will continue to wreak havoc in their departments. We must stay diligent! 

Tell your representatives to pass a "clean" spending bill with no anti-environment riders or budget cuts!

Some things should transcend partisan divides in Congress. Things like keeping our kids safe from toxic pollution. Climate change. Clean air. Safe drinking water. But the Big Polluters and their allies in Congress see an opportunity to sneak anti-environment measures into a federal spending bill that must pass soon to keep the government from shutting down.

Your elected officials are weighing their options on this spending bill right now, and they need to hear from you.

Tell Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain and Representative Martha McSally to pass a "clean" spending bill with no anti-environment riders or budget cuts!

Corporate polluters and their allies in Congress know that anti-environment attacks, corporate giveaways and rollbacks of public health safeguards would never survive normal up-and-down votes in the House or Senate. Their solution? Attach them to this must-pass budget bill, and hope no one puts up a fight.

This isn't a new tactic — but with Donald Trump in the White House, it's more urgent than ever that we pay attention and speak up. Because he's ready to sign a spending bill full of riders that would trample our right to a clean environment and a healthy future.

These riders could:

*Threaten the air we breathe and the water we drink by rolling back critical clean air and water protections.

*Gut safeguards that keep Big Polluters in check by slashing funding to the EPA and other agencies to enforce environmental rules.

*Wave a white flag in the fight against climate change by abandoning the Clean Power Plan and other efforts to ensure a safe and sustainable future.

*Sacrifice imperiled wildlife like wolves, grizzlies and whales by pulling back on protections guaranteed by the Endangered Species Act.

The NRDC Action Fund is working to stop anti-environment riders like these from infecting this must-pass spending bill. Our lobbyists are on Capitol Hill making sure key senators and representatives are ready to stand up against these rollbacks. We're alerting local and national media outlets to these federal budget schemes. And we're ratcheting up public pressure by mobilizing constituents like you to call their lawmakers.

So tell your senators and representative to oppose any spending bill with measures that hurt the environment and public health!

Make no mistake, this isn't just about the federal budget. It's about protecting our right to a clean and healthy environment, and our children's future from those who would sell them off to the highest bidder.

Rhea Suh
President, NRDC Action Fund

Call your members of Congress and demand they fight for clean air and water today

As I’m writing this, Congress is gearing up to decide whether the air we breathe and the water we drink will be protected for future generations.

Last month, Donald Trump proposed a federal budget that includes a staggering 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — slashing programs that protect children from lead exposure and fight air pollution in our cities. [1]

In the next two weeks, Congress decides whether or not that budget passes. We cannot let that happen. Please, call your members of Congress at 1-877-969-2590 and demand they fight for clean air and water today!

Trump’s budget would cut funding for:

*Clean Air Act programs that have reduced emissions of six harmful air pollutants by 70 percent in the last 40 years.

*State and local government initiatives that protect fresh water and allow communities to meet health-based drinking water standards.

*The entire EPA environmental justice office.

*Scientific research on climate change and the health impacts of toxins in our environment.

Where would that money go? Not to taxpayers — to the Department of Defense for “more warships and fighter jets.” [2]

We have to resist this attack on our health and communities! Call 1-877-969-2590 today and ask Congress to protect funding for a clean and healthy environment.

Congress has until April 28 to pass a budget, which means that right now is our best chance to make sure that budget includes protections for the air we breathe and the water we drink. Democrat or Republican, your representatives need to hear from you.

Your action has moved Congress and thwarted Trump’s dangerous agenda before. Your phone calls and Town Hall visits made his deplorable cabinet nominations the most contested in history, ensured his inhumane healthcare bill was dead on arrival, and helped push extremist Steve Bannon off the National Security Council.

Now we need to do it again to protect our health and environment. Call your Congress members at 1-877-969-2590 and be a voice for healthy communities and environmental protection!

Gutting the EPA would be nothing short of life-threatening for millions of Americans. Jana, we need you now more than ever in the fight for clean air and water — I know you won’t let me down.

Yours in resistance,

Rachel Rye Butler
RESIST Project Team, Greenpeace USA

P.S. I got off the line with my representatives this morning, and it felt good to stand up for the healthy environment our communities deserve. Will you join me? Call 1-877-969-2590 today to protect programs that clean our air and water.


[1] http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/trumps-budget-would-mean-less-money-for-clean-air-and-water-more-money-for-war/
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/15/us/politics/trump-budget-proposal.htm