skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Trump Budget Called a 'Big Step Backward' for Great Lakes

play audio
Play

Friday, February 14, 2020   

ALBANY, N.Y. - Drastic cuts to clean water programs in the Trump administration's proposed national budget would be a big loss for the Great Lakes, according to groups that advocate for water quality.

The budget proposal would maintain the current level of funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $320 million.

But according to Laura Rubin, director the Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition, cuts proposed for other programs would undermine efforts to reduce algal blooms and invasive species, and to repair the infrastructure that keeps pollution from entering the Great Lakes in the first place.

"These cuts are many and they're drastic," says Rubin. "Programs on the chopping block include those that support science and research, environmental justice issues, Asian carp management, to name a few."

The Coalition estimates that New York alone will need almost $54 million over the next 20 years to repair and replace crumbling drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure.

Chad Lord, the Coalition's policy director, says the president's budget cuts funding for one program that helps communities pay for sewer upgrades and repairs by almost a half-billion dollars.

"Many local and state governments are cash-strapped and depend on the federal government and its partnership with those communities to help pay to provide essential clean water services," says Lord.

The president's budget also would cut the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund by almost $266 million.

These budget cuts follow the Trump administration's major rollback of clean water regulations last month. Rubin says maintaining level funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is important, but it isn't enough.

"Great Lakes protection is not a partisan issue," says Rubin. "And one budget line item cannot erase an overall budget that contains drastic cuts to essential clean water programs."

She says the Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition will be in Washington, DC, next month to urge Congress to make full funding of clean water programs a top priority.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021