Trump’s 5 Worst Budget Cuts for Our Food & Water

When we got a first look at some of Trump’s budget wish list back in March, we knew we were in for some bad news. But today after he released his first full budget proposal, everything we were worried about has been confirmed – these cuts are reckless and put our food, water, environment and health at even greater risk.

Trump wants to cut $57 billion from critical domestic programs that help provide people with safe food, water and essential environmental protections. And worse – he wants to put that money toward defense contractors and military buildup abroad.

There’s a lot to sort out in the coming days, but for now these are our top 5 worst cuts for our food and water:

1. Trump wants to gut the EPA protections. The Environmental Protection Agency was created to enforce laws like the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Air Act that save countless lives every year — yet Trump is doing everything he can to cripple the agency’s ability to do its job. He wants to cut staff (including career scientists), dismantle key programs like the Environmental Justice program, eliminate grants to states for problems like lead poisoning, end regional water cleanup efforts and slash funding for enforcement activities.



2. Trump wants to cut renewable energy. Jobs in renewable energy are outpacing fossil fuels by nearly 4 to 1 — yet Trumps wants to cut renewable energy and energy efficiency by 70% in the federal budget. Investing in renewable energy is not just cost effective, it will create jobs, improve public health and help us prevent the unpredictable and dangerous impacts of climate change. We absolutely cannot let Trump grant the fossil fuel industry their number one wish. Our planet is out of time — we must move America OFF fossil fuels immediately.

3. Trump wants to put Wall Street in charge of our nation’s water systems: While the Trump administration has been talking up its plans for investing in infrastructure, we can’t let them pull the wool over our eyes. While infrastructure investment is desperately needed, Trump’s budget would rely heavily on private financing, which has a nasty track record of costing taxpayers more money than publicly run infrastructure. Instead, we need dedicated, national funding for our infrastructure – like the WATER Act.

4. Trump wants to cut food stamps by $193 million and cut food safety staff: Trump’s proposal for food stamps is perhaps the best example of who the Trump administration is really looking out for. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, is facing significant cuts. Almost 44 million people received SNAP benefits in 2016, meaning that cuts to this program would affect tens of millions of people and make it harder for them to get the food they need. The Trump budget would also cut funding for the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety program, including reducing staff levels, and cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which tracks and responds to foodborne illness outbreaks.

5. Trump wants to end reporting on carbon emissions and cut climate programs: In doing so, Trump would devastate progress we’ve made on limiting climate change pollution climate. And his plans to end programs designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions is a nod to the oil and gas industry—an industry his cabinet has disturbingly close ties to. 

Bottom line: the programs that Trump wants to cut save lives, and we need to protect them.  And while Trump can propose a budget, Congress has the final say – meaning we have time to stop this egregious budget. If we come together and tell our elected officials to reject Trump’s reckless budget, it’ll be another huge step in protecting our food, water and environment.

Tell Congress: Reject Trump’s Budget!