Environmental protection - stop budget cuts

This is my own opinion in an "echo", published in the Maine weekly "The Forecaster"~ by Juliana L'Heureux (MaineWriter)

Proposed EPA cuts will damage Maine, nation

Congresswomann Chellie Pingree opposes cuts to the Environmental Protection budget

Maine recognizes the environmental leadership provided by Rep. Chellie Pingree, as she works with bi-partisan Congressional efforts to protect against proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Cuts proposed by EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt will impact Maine’s economy.

While reading about the dialogue exchanged during public hearings conducted with Pruitt and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, it was helpful to see the published remarks, where Pingree described, for the record, how Maine relies on the EPA as a resource for fishing and the lobster industry. She joined with her Democratic and Republican colleagues to support sustaining the agency’s budget.

Unfortunately, Pruitt has recommended severely cutting the EPA budget. Moreover, he is insisting that the EPA he leads could fulfill its mission by cutting the agency’s budget more than any other federal department. Thank you, Rep. Pingree, for bringing Maine’s respect for the environment into the public record and your bi-partisan support for the EPA budget. It is essential that Americans learn more about how the proposed EPA cuts will impact our economy and the public’s health. The EPA must have access to the funds needed to carry out its important mission in Maine and throughout the nation.

Juliana L’Heureux
Topsham

(Thanks to "The Forecaster")