President Joe Biden is pushing for an EPA budget hike as he seeks to cement his legacy of fighting climate change and aiding marginalized communities struggling with pollution.
The White House has requested $11 billion for EPA, according to the fiscal 2025 budget plan released Monday. That would be a substantial increase for the agency, which was roughed up in this year’s budgetary to and fro on Capitol Hill.
Congress last week approved close to $9.2 billion in fiscal 2024 spending for EPA. That is an almost $1 billion slash, although much of that decrease will fall on the Superfund program, which is covered by revenue from reinstated polluter-pays taxes.
In contrast, Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget request for EPA would be roughly $1.8 billion or almost 20 percent more than recently enacted funding. Still, the White House fiscal blueprint released Monday is lower than the president’s request last year for EPA, which was approaching $12.1 billion.
