On late Friday night, the federal government finally came to a deal and barely averted a federal shutdown. With help from White House and congressional negotiators, a budget plan was put together and agreed upon to finance government operations through September 2011. The Budget plan cuts $38.5 billion in spending and, with no doubt, the country will feel these cuts. Considered one of the harshest spending reductions in United States history, the new budget plan has no mercy on things such as housing programs for needy people, or the Environmental Protection Agency.
As we approach the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22), we are confronted with the devastating reality of our government’s selfish actions. Included in the details of this 2011 fiscal budget is a $1.6 billion cut in funding for the EPA. The Associated Press reported that Senator Jon Tester’s (D, MT) and Representative Mike Simpson’s (R, ID) rider was approved as a last-minute addition to the budget; eliminating endangered species protection for gray wolves.
Making an egregious mistake and removing gray wolves from the endangered species list is something that congress has never done before. In an email sent out to supporters, the National Resources Defense Council stated, “It is a shameful day for this nation when both parties unite behind the slaughter of an endangered species — without public hearing or debate.” According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the pull back in funding for gray wolves will result in mass killing of this beautiful animal in states such as Idaho and Montana. Such a decision leaves many angered and asking themselves why the government would get involved in such issues and why dirty politics and greed should decide the future of endangered species or environmental decisions.
According to an NRDC member blog, such political action is a “significant blow to the Endangered Species Act and the principle it embodies: that science and law, not the whims of politics, should dictate what animals and plants are worthy of federal protection.” This underhanded sneaky move, made by in the part the congressmen who introduced the rider and in the part the White House that approved it, will not go unnoticed by supporters of the EPA and Endangered Species. The NRDC and other organizations dedicated to the protection of animals and environment are calling upon citizens like you and I to write to our Senators and Representatives telling them to “take their hands off” the Endangered Species Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency was born under the presidency of Richard Nixon and began operation in December of 1970. The Agency is responsible for environmental assessment, education, and research. It is also responsible for enforcing environmental law through fines, sanctions and other methods. The EPA was originally created as an independent agency with hardly any government interference.