House panel approves bill with deep cuts for EPA
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/epa-budget-cuts-94632.html[font face=Serif][font size=5]House panel approves bill with deep cuts for EPA[/font]
By DARREN GOODE | 7/24/13 5:02 AM EDT
[font size=3]Over fierce Democratic objections, House Republicans took initial steps Tuesday toward slashing the Environmental Protection Agencys budget by a third while blocking a central part of President Barack Obamas climate agenda.
The Appropriations Interior and Environment subcommittee voted 7-4 to send the full committee a $24.3 billion spending plan that would deliver a nearly 19 percent cut to the EPA and the Interior Department, going beyond the reductions agreed to under sequestration. The bill includes a 34 percent cut in the EPAs budget, leaving the agency $5.5 billion next year.
Republican appropriators said theyre forced to make such heavy cuts in discretionary spending because the White House and Congress havent made a deal to sufficiently reduce mandatory spending, such as entitlements.
Republicans included a slew of riders that would block EPA actions, including the agencys proposals to control greenhouse gas emissions from power plants a central part of Obamas plans to address climate change. The bill would also block the EPA from moving ahead with its proposed Tier 3 rule on sulfur in gasoline or finishing its rule for cooling towers on power plants and major manufacturing facilities.
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