GOP-led Interior Bill Aims to Block Any New Health, Safety or Environmental Safeguards

WASHINGTON – The House is moving toward voting on the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, which would deny the Environmental Protection Agency the tools it needs to protect the American people.

Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, issued this statement:

“The Interior appropriations bill is bloated with destructive, dangerous, even absurd provisions. It makes clear the Republican leadership’s goal: to block environmental progress on any and all fronts. And to decimate protections overwhelmingly supported by the American people.

“This bill would effectively stop the EPA from advancing any new health or safety safeguards, no matter how great the need. The desire to virtually shut down the agency runs rampant throughout the bill, from the cuts in the agency’s budget and the endless riders blocking specific initiatives, to harassing provisions barring the agency from paying enough to attract respected scientists, or to even allowing its employees to fly on planes for business. The White House’s promise of a veto will ensure it never becomes law.”

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.