PRESIDENT BUSH'S PRELIMINARY 2002 budget, detailed in his speech to Congress last week, would cut total funding for EPA by $500 million, to $7.3 billion. Bush argues, however, that the agency's funding for its core operating programs will remain unchanged from this year, at $3.7 billion.
The cuts would come from EPA's current $4.1-billion allotment for air and water partnerships with the states and "unrequested" money that was added by lawmakers in 2000 for local environmental projects, says Bush. EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman says the agency's goals "will not be hindered in any way" by Bush's proposal.
Bush also proposes to cut $400 million from the Interior Department, to $9.8 billion in 2002, and $700 million from the Energy Department, to $19 billion. Environmental organizations say Bush is out of step with public sentiment when he proposes to decrease spending for environmental programs, and they are urging Democrats to reject the plan. A detailed budget plan is expected in April.
Meanwhile, Bush has asked Congress to increase funding in 2002 for federal research agencies. He requests a $100-million raise for the National Science Foundation (Arlington, VA), to $4.5 billion, and a $2.8-billion raise for the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), to $23.1 billion. Bush proposes, however, to eliminate funding starting in 2002 for the Commerce Department's $190.7-million/year Advanced Technology Program (ATP), which provides chemical producers with grants for risky R&D projects. Former President Clinton, who sided with the chemical and other industries in supporting ATP, defeated several attempts in Congress to kill the program. Some lawmakers say that ATP is a corporate subsidy from the taxpayers.
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