Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's Fiscal Year FY2023 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency:
Today, the Interior-Environment Subcommittee will examine the President’s fiscal year 2023 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Joining us this morning is EPA Administrator Michael Regan. With him is Chief Financial Officer Faisal Amin. It is good to see you again Mr. Administrator and welcome Mr. Amin.
Before we start, I want to personally thank both of you for your partnership in completing the fiscal year 2022 bill and I look forward to working with you again as we begin our work on the fiscal year 2023 bill. Administrator Regan, I also want to thank you for your visit to Saco a couple of months ago. I appreciated your insight and commitment to help with not just our PFAS issues in Maine but across the country.
For fiscal year 2023, the President is requesting $11.9 billion for the EPA, a $2.3 billion increase over the enacted level.
In addition to this request, the EPA released its strategic plan with seven clear and ambitious goals. For the first time, this plan includes a goal focused solely on addressing climate change. It also includes an unprecedented goal to advance environmental justice and civil rights. I applaud you for taking on these two critical issues and look forward to supporting you in these efforts.
During this hearing, I hope that we can explore further how this request will support your strategic plan and primary mission to protect human health and the environment.
Some highlights of the budget request include:
- Increasing staffing, after years of decline, to its highest levels in over a decade.
- Tackling the climate crisis head-on through robust funding for the EPA’s science and technology and environmental programs.
- Taking decisive action to address environmental justice and civil rights so that we can finally make significant strides in communities that have been historically underserved and overburdened; and
- Building on the funding provided in the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to fix our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and address the public health challenges we currently face.
The President’s request builds on the successes of our fiscal year 2022 bill, and I look forward to collaborating closely with the Administrator and President Biden in achieving our shared vision for a safer, more prosperous, and more just nation.
I would now like to yield to my friend the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Mr. Joyce, for any opening remarks he would like to make.
Original source can be found here.
