A group made up mostly of former EPA employees is pressing Congress to adopt the Senate version of a fiscal 2026 spending bill that would make a modest trim to the agency’s current budget instead of the much steeper reductions contained in the House counterpart.
For lawmakers, “this is a moment of choice,” said Marc Boom, senior director of public affairs for the Environmental Protection Network, speaking to reporters on a conference call Tuesday afternoon.
While the Senate measure would pare EPA’s budget by about 5 percent from the current level to $8.6 billion, that’s far less than the 23 percent reduction approved by House appropriators or the 55 percent cut proposed by the White House. The final measure could be wrapped into a five-bill omnibus now under negotiation, although a deal may still be weeks away.
“Keep your fingers crossed,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, said late last week.
