April 22, 2002 – Delegate Donna Christian Christensen joined fellow Democrats Monday in decrying Bush administration moves to cut funding for Environmental Protection Agency programs.
The proposed cutbacks in the EPA's Clean Water Revolving Fund, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act, and Watershed Program will have a negative impact on the Virgin Islands, which utilizes federal funding through the programs to meet its environmental mandates, Christensen said.
"This Earth Day is one of grave concern for all who care about our environment," she said in a release. "Taking the focus and the funding away from the programs that help us meet our environmental needs will reap negative returns for us all in the future."
Christensen is a member of the House Committee on Resources and the ranking member on its Subcommittee on Parks and Public Lands. She said that funding for National Park maintenance and the Land and Water Conservation Fund also are in danger of being cut from the federal budget.
"The downside of the Republican tax cuts is that many programs which assist jurisdictions like the Virgin Islands who have limited resources to take care of these issues on their own will suffer," Christensen said. "We rely on our environmental heritage to promote our tourism economy. Hopefully, there will be opportunities to mitigate the cuts and keep the funding in the spirit of Earth Day."
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