Oceana Says Severe Funding Cuts Could Cripple Key Agencies, Calls on Congress to Reject President Trump’s Proposed Budget
Press Release Date: March 16, 2017
Location: Washington, D.C.
Contact:
Anna Baxter | email: abaxter@oceana.org
Anna Baxter
WASHINGTON – Today, the Trump administration released the outline of the president’s budget for the federal government for fiscal year 2018. In his “skinny” budget, President Trump proposes to increase defense spending by $54 billion, while cutting non-defense discretionary spending by the same amount. Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana’s Senior Vice President for U.S. Oceans and Global Fishing Watch, released the following statement regarding the proposed budget:
“Funding cuts of this magnitude could cripple key agencies like NOAA and the Coast Guard, which would be devastating to decades of ocean conservation. These federal agencies, and the budgets that support them, allow our nation’s bedrock conservation laws to sustainably manage our fisheries, protect marine mammals and endangered species, preserve marine habitats, clean up oil spills and so much more. Congress should reject devastating cuts that would put at risk many coastal economies and jobs that depend on healthy oceans.”