Still Waters Run Deep, Budget Cuts Run Deeper

Still waters run deep, but congressional budget cuts run even deeper. The continuing resolution put forward by the majority in the House of Representatives will gut regional programs designed to protect and restore our nation’s great waters. These programs create and save jobs connected to fishing, recreation, tourism, transportation, trade, energy and clean water.

Here is a list of some of the successful regional initiatives that will be cut significantly by the continuing resolution:

• $441 million from the Army Corps construction budget that includes projects to restore coastal Louisiana and the Florida Everglades
• $250 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
• $10 million from the Chesapeake Bay Program
• $20 million from Puget Sound restoration
• $2 million from the San Francisco Bay Program
• $4 million from the Long Island Sound Program
• $2.6 million from Lake Champlain restoration
• $1.5 million from the Gulf of Mexico Program
• $5.6 million from the National Estuary Program ($200 million per watershed)
• $2.1 million culled from all of the other geographic restoration initiatives

In additon to cutting programs that keep our waters clean and safe, the continuing resolution also severely handicaps the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce the Clean Water Act. Cuts to clean water mean more pollution, fish kills, dead zones, invasive species, health threats and less tourism, fishing, and recreation jobs and dollars.

Visit the National Wildlife Federation’s Action Center to tell Congress to stop making cuts to clean water jobs and programs. Water is the lifeblood of this country, and we can’t afford to let lawmakers drain us dry.