McCarthy, Donovan criticize Interior-EPA approps bill as senators call for budget deal
July 08, 2015 |09:35 AM
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Wednesday that the fiscal year 2016 Interior and EPA appropriations bill that the House will consider today amounts to an attack on the agency in terms of both policy and budget.
The House completed amendments to the H.R. 2822, the fiscal year 2016 Interior and Environment and Related Agencies bill late Tuesday night and is expected to complete action on the bill today. All requested votes on amendments were postponed.
In a call to reporters with Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan, McCarthy said there are a “myriad of riders” in the bill that would prevent implementation of the Clean Water Rule and prevent the agency from using “the latest science.”
The budget “threatens the core activities of the agency,” she added.
Because there will still be requests to the Army Corps of Engineers for projects and because the rule provides clarity, McCarthy said, Congress should allow the Clean Water Rule to move forward “without any hiatus,” she said.
State attorneys general and a coalition of farm groups have also filed lawsuits against the rule.
Donovan criticized a number of provisions affecting the Interior Department in the House and Senate appropriations bills and released a blog post with links to state-by-state reports on land acquisition, construction and repair projects that would be prevented or delayed by the House bill. (See link.)
But Donovan said that he is "optimistic" that there will be a deal on the budget that will lift sequestration. Without action soon, Donovan said, the government will be back to “brinksmanship.”
Meanwhile, a group of Democratic senators mostly from rural states led by Sen. Jon Tester of Montana called on the congressional leadership and the president to reach a budget deal “that responsibly invests in middle class families, veterans, national security, infrastructure, education and public access to public lands.”
A letter to President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged them to sit down together and hash out a deal to avoid another budget cliff.
The letter was signed by Tester, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Mark Warner of Virginia.
“We are deeply concerned that a failure to reach a consensus on budget cap relief this summer will threaten our national security, undermine our economy and shortchange future generations,” the senators wrote. “It is critical that you begin negotiations now in order to avoid another manufactured crisis this fall.”
The senators said that sequestration caps have already proven to be unworkable and make it impossible to responsibly invest in bipartisan priorities including veterans, national security, water infrastructure, Head Start, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The House completed amendments to the H.R. 2822, the fiscal year 2016 Interior and Environment and Related Agencies bill late Tuesday night and is expected to complete action on the bill today. All requested votes on amendments were postponed.
In a call to reporters with Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan, McCarthy said there are a “myriad of riders” in the bill that would prevent implementation of the Clean Water Rule and prevent the agency from using “the latest science.”
The budget “threatens the core activities of the agency,” she added.
Because there will still be requests to the Army Corps of Engineers for projects and because the rule provides clarity, McCarthy said, Congress should allow the Clean Water Rule to move forward “without any hiatus,” she said.
State attorneys general and a coalition of farm groups have also filed lawsuits against the rule.
Donovan criticized a number of provisions affecting the Interior Department in the House and Senate appropriations bills and released a blog post with links to state-by-state reports on land acquisition, construction and repair projects that would be prevented or delayed by the House bill. (See link.)
But Donovan said that he is "optimistic" that there will be a deal on the budget that will lift sequestration. Without action soon, Donovan said, the government will be back to “brinksmanship.”
Meanwhile, a group of Democratic senators mostly from rural states led by Sen. Jon Tester of Montana called on the congressional leadership and the president to reach a budget deal “that responsibly invests in middle class families, veterans, national security, infrastructure, education and public access to public lands.”
A letter to President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged them to sit down together and hash out a deal to avoid another budget cliff.
The letter was signed by Tester, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Mark Warner of Virginia.
“We are deeply concerned that a failure to reach a consensus on budget cap relief this summer will threaten our national security, undermine our economy and shortchange future generations,” the senators wrote. “It is critical that you begin negotiations now in order to avoid another manufactured crisis this fall.”
The senators said that sequestration caps have already proven to be unworkable and make it impossible to responsibly invest in bipartisan priorities including veterans, national security, water infrastructure, Head Start, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
