Greens launch ad campaign against EPA cuts

A environmental group has launched a six-figure ad campaign against proposed budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

An ad from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) says cutting the agency’s budget will lead to “more asthma attacks, more lead in drinking water, more health problems, more pollution.”

It warns lawmakers to “be ready” to be held responsible for those issues should they vote to cut the EPA’s budget.

{mosads}“We will fight to educate Members of Congress about the impact this draconian budget would have and will fight to educate the public about who is responsible if such cuts become law,” Elizabeth Thompson, EDF’s vice president for political affairs, said in a statement.

EDF’s ads will run in Washington, D.C., and Orange County, Calif., starting Wednesday, according to the group. 

The ad campaign is the first to highlight spending cuts proposed by the Trump administration. 

Officials have proposed a 31 percent reduction in the EPA’s $8.3 billion budget, taking aim at climate change programs, state grants and dozens of agency offices. The agency would shed thousands of jobs under the plan.

Some key Republicans on Capitol Hill have raised concerns with the plan, which is part of President Trump’s effort to cut domestic spending while increasing the Pentagon’s budget.