UPDATE: President Trump's budget would slash critical EPA programs for San Francisco Bay, the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, climate change and safe drinking water. The Senate neeeds to fight these cuts immediately.
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It's come to this: Republican members of the House of Representatives have introduced a bill to shut down the EPA.
Not content to simply allow mining waste to be dumped into streams, or patient enough to allow new EPA Administrator (and former sworn enemy of the EPA) Scott Pruitt to dismantle the agency from within, four Republicans in the House of Representatives have filed a bill to shut down the agency as of 2019.
Congressmen Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) apparently think clean air, safe drinking water, functioning wetlands and a habitable climate are waaaaay overrated.
It's clear that House Republicans have lost their minds. Unfortunately, I have no faith that our climate-denier-in-chief would veto this insane legislation if it made it to his desk, so we're going to need the Senate to step up.
That's right, we need the Senate to be the adults in DC. With the news out of the House and the new "leadership" at EPA, I could start a new petition every single day spotlighting a new insult and threat to our shared environment.
We need a bipartisan group of 10+ Senators to step forward and commit to blocking the roll-back of our environmental safeguards. Clearly, the EPA must be defended, but the larger principle of bipartisan leadership for cleaner air, water, thriving public lands, and action on climate change is well-worth protecting as well.
Sign the petition today, and urge your Senators to set partisanship aside and create a joint effort to stand together in defense of the EPA and our environment.
Susan Collins (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Cory Gardner (R-CO), Dean Heller (R-NV), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), joined by Clair McCaskill (D-MO), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Tom Carper (D-DE) could create an unstoppable voice and voting block for the future of our nation's environment and public health.
All Senators are encouraged to join together for the planet, but if 10+ clearly communicated their shared commitment to our environment and unwillingness to see our nation dragged backwards, our nation could begin a far more useful conversation about how to move forward.
