White House Says Sequester Would Mean a Loss of More than $7 Million in Environmental Funds for Pennsylvania
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Susan Phillips
Robyn Beck / AFP/GettyImages
US President Barack Obama.
The Obama Administration says Pennsylvania would lose more than $7 million in funds for environmental programs if no budget deal is reached and the so-called “sequester” kicks in on Friday. So far, there appears no movement for compromise between Obama and Congressional Republicans over the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, which were supposed to go into effect January 1, but were delayed until March 1.
The White House released state-by-state figures Sunday evening on how the cuts would impact everything from education to transportation, to environmental protection programs.
“Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: Pennsylvania would lose about $5,705,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Pennsylvania could lose another $1,448,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.”
But Republicans say Obama is exaggerating the impact of the automatic cuts. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn said it’s a made-up crisis.
“There are easy ways to cut this money that the American people will never feel,” said Coburn.
Meanwhile, Politico reports on Republican divisions over how to respond to the looming cuts.
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