Washington, D.C. — In response to the passage of funding for important environmental programs as part of the FY21 funding bill for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) through the House of Representatives today, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statements from Legislative Director Matthew Davis and Chispa National Director Johana Vicente:

LCV Legislative Director Matthew Davis:

“Thank you to the pro-environment led House for passing funding bills that will help address our country’s legacy of environmental injustice, invest in healthy and safe communities, and protect our public lands and waters from Big Polluters. This forward-looking House budget will immediately help people, especially people of color suffering the most from the ongoing health, climate, and economic crises. The contrast with President Trump’s environmentally racist, pro-corporate polluter spending proposal that slashed environmental programs by almost a third could not be more stark.

“We desperately need to block the Trump EPA from finalizing its anti-science, inadequate air quality standards for particulate matter, particularly since it worsens COVID-19 infection and death rates, and commend Representatives Blunt Rochester, McEachin, Tonko, and Rush for leading a key floor amendment to do so. Critically, thanks to Representative Dingell and bipartisan cosponsors, the bill also prohibits the Trump administration from backtracking on urgently needed efforts to regulate toxic PFAS. We also want to thank the House for taking steps to address the legacy of racism in taxpayer funded sites by including provisions for the removal of Confederate symbols on our public lands, Capitol grounds, and military bases in the Interior appropriations bill as well as other funding bills.

“Other highlights of the bill include investments in the Environmental Justice, Superfund, Brownfields, and Diesel Emissions Reduction Act programs, and efforts to block extraction in or near the Arctic Refuge, Chaco Canyon, the Boundary Waters, the Tongass National Forest, and off our coasts. Importantly, the bill also adds an additional $10.2 billion to the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds and would block attempts of the Trump administration to take away states’ rights to protect their waterways, weaken the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants, and suppress science used in rulemaking.”

Chispa National Director Johana Vicente on the increased and emergency supplemental funding for programs to cut diesel pollution and electrify school buses:

“Black, Indigenous and children of color deserve to breathe clean air, especially on their way to and from school. Dirty diesel school buses are putting the health of millions of children at risk, especially Black, Indigenous, and Latinx children who already bear the burden of environmental pollution. We commend Congresswoman Hayes and Subcommittee Chair McCollum for following the lead of states across the country that have begun the transition to zero-emission, electric school buses. By prioritizing our children’s health, we can start to build a more just and equitable clean energy future.”

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