Proposed 2001 EPA Budget Contains Largest-ever Increase to

Administrator Carol M. Browner announced President Clinton's proposed Fiscal Year 2001 budget of $7.3 billion for the United States Environmental Protection Agency and $2.2 billion for the Better America Bonds program. The budget is the largest increase in the history of the Clinton/Gore Administration in spending for EPA's essential operations to provide cleaner water, cleaner air, and safer food. The President's budget ensures that seven years of unprecedented environmental progress under his administration continues into the future, providing improved protection of public health and the environment for all Americans and their communities. The budget provides $784 million for President Clinton's Clean Water Action Plan, designed to finish the job of cleaning up America's waters. These funds will ensure that federal agencies, states, tribes, and local communities can work together to improve access to environmental information, enhance natural resource stewardship, protect public health and restore the full use of America's lakes, rivers and bays. Included in the funding for the Clean Water Action Plan, the Clinton-Gore Administration is proposing the following new investments for FY 2001: *Restoring Our Nation's Great Lakes. The Clinton-Gore Administration will invest $50 million in a new initiative to protect and improve one of our country's greatest natural resources -- the Great Lakes. *Cleaning Waters Across America. Stepping up efforts to identify and restore polluted waterways, the President's budget is providing an additional $45 million in state grants for a new initiative aimed at waterways still in need of improvements. *Addressing the Greatest Threat To Water Quality. The President's budget includes new and additional funding options to protect our lakes, rivers and bays from polluted runoff -- the largest remaining threat to our nation's water quality. However, many experts believe the plan will face significant opposition from a Republican controlled Congress determined not to give Vice President Al Gore an environmental victory going into the November presidential elections. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)