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The Honorable Susan Collins The Honorable Patty Murray |
The Honorable Tom Cole The Honorable Rosa L. DeLauro |
Dear Chairs Collins and Cole, Vice Chair Murray, and Ranking Member DeLauro:
On behalf of our tens of millions of members and supporters across the country, the 85 undersigned organizations urge you to preserve environmental funding in annual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), to exclude any anti-environmental policy provisions, and to ensure that all funding enacted by Congress is faithfully executed, including the salaries of all career civil servants charged with protecting our environment and our health.
The agencies and programs tasked with protecting our health, lands, wildlife, air, water, and oceans have long been chronically underfunded despite the importance of their missions. The harmful spending caps imposed under laws like the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Budget Control Act have short changed critical environmental initiatives for over a decade, compounding preexisting shortfalls. It is imperative that Congress quickly reverses this trend to better meet the full needs of our communities and ecosystems alike. Underfunded environmental programs mean higher health care and energy costs for families, degraded public lands and waters, and higher risk to communities from climate-fueled natural disasters, among many other impacts to people across the country. We also urge you to oppose anti-environmental policy riders—including those carried forward from prior funding bills—which have no place in the appropriations process.
We are extremely concerned by recent administrative actions to withhold congressionally appropriated funding and dismantle the federal workforce. Bipartisan funding laws are painstakingly negotiated by Congress under the assumption that the executive branch will faithfully implement the will of the people’s elected representatives—a duty clearly enumerated under constitutional law. In most years this fact is taken for granted, but it is a basic and necessary prerequisite for any federal funding deal. Alarmingly, the White House’s requested “anomalies” for the continuing resolution would cede even more of Congress’ authority by granting the administration even broader discretion to spend—or not spend—appropriated funds. Congress must ensure that the legislative branch’s Article I power of the purse is protected as part of any funding agreement.
With your leadership, we can—and must—rebuild and equip the crucial agencies and programs that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the lands we hold dear, and so much more. Not only is additional funding necessary to address the climate and biodiversity crises and to remedy the years of chronic underfunding for our environment, but these investments can also create good-paying jobs, support thriving businesses large and small, and revitalize our communities. We thank you for your consideration and stand ready to support you in meeting this request.
Sincerely,
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350.org |
Endangered Species Coalition |