November 03, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 3, 2023 

Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov 

Congressman David Trone Calls “Bull” on Republicans’ “Cutting the Fat” Mantra After House Passes Interior Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman David Trone (D-MD), member of the House Committee on Appropriations, released the following statement condemning Republicans’ funding cuts after the House passage of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill:

“Last year, I became a grandfather. When I picture my grandson’s future, I’m reminded that our responsibility is to leave this Earth better than we found it.

“In an age when extreme heat is now the number-one weather-related cause of death in the U.S. – killing more people most years than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined – extreme Republicans are abandoning our fundamental responsibility to take care of its citizens today and look out for the generations of tomorrow.

“This bill not only strips the Environment Protection Agency to funding levels we haven’t seen in over three decades, but it also jeopardizes clean water access by eliminating over 90% of funding to Clean Drinking Water State Funding across the country, including a $25 million hit to Maryland.

“This legislation is cruel – it puts our nation’s most vulnerable communities at risk of respiratory illness, increased water-borne disease, and cancer by divesting from environmental justice programs and greenhouse reduction funds by billions of dollars. As a cancer survivor myself, this is personal.

“Climate change is projected to drive over one-third of the Earth’s animal and plant species to extinction by 2050 if current greenhouse gas emissions trajectories continue. By underfunding our national parks and species protection programs, this bill guarantees that the diversity of species I grew up with will be long gone by the time my grandson turns 30. This is the future that extreme Republicans are advocating for.

“It’s no question that the ramifications of this bill would reach every community in the United States – rich and poor, Black and white, liberal and conservative. It damages our public lands, promotes dirty energy, jeopardizes biodiversity, and hinders our response to the climate crisis. I do not and will never support this legislation.”

Background:

The draft bill includes $34.8 billion, which is $5.7 billion below the 2023 level, a cut of 14 percent. The legislation: 

• Cuts programs in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by $9.4 billion.
  • $7.8 billion from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which supports investments for disadvantaged communities and the creation of high-paying jobs. 
  • $1.4 billion intended to address environmental health impacts in underserved communities.

• Hinders the U.S. response to the Climate Crisis and fails to address the growing number and severity of extreme weather events by cutting efforts to reduce carbon emissions and community resiliency programs. 
• Slashes funding for national parks, threatening Americans’ ability to enjoy public lands.
• Exacerbates environmental discrimination against rural and poor communities by defunding environmental justice initiatives. 
• Promotes dirty energy by requiring fossil fuels lease sales while prohibiting growth in clean energy projects.
• Incites hate and discrimination by prohibiting funds for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, censoring commemoration of LGTBQI+ pride, and prohibiting the Smithsonian Institution from highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in U.S. history and culture.

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders.

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