Biden Budget Seeks Boost for EPA Core Programs and Research (1)

摘要

President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget lays out a 24.1% boost to the EPA’s core rule-writing and enforcement programs and a 7.5% increase in staffing to get the work done, according toa detailed blueprint released on Friday.The plan envisions a $3.4 billion request to implement the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other statutes, up from $2.8 billion in the current budget.That funding would cover a huge range of activities, such as creating ways to attain ambient air quality standards and overseeing states’ management of hazardous waste.Agency-wide, Biden’s budget would raise EPA staffing to 15,206 full-time employees, up from 14,144.The budget “makes sure all EPA offices have the operational budgets and workforces they need to deliver for the American people,” Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.Biden’s overall funding ask for the EPA is a 21.6% increase over what it currently receives. The request represents what would be the biggest budget the EPA has ever received.