NEWS: Senator Blunt Rochester Slams Administrator Zeldin Over Trump Budget Cuts

"States really can't afford this."

Click here to watch Senator Blunt Rochester's Remarks

Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today criticized the Trump administration's proposed cuts to a water infrastructure program states rely on to provide drinking water to residents. Blunt Rochester also blasted Zeldin on EPA' decision to roll back a rule designed to keep communities safe from chemical disasters.

Senator Blunt Rochester's full remarks and exchange with Administrator Zeldin can be found here. A key excerpt is below:

Senator Blunt Rochester: "Just this week, I had the opportunity to meet with county executives, county council people in my state, and there was a lot of concern that the President's budget eliminates nearly all funding for the clean water and Drinking Water State Revolving funds, the primary source of water infrastructure funding in our country. And your agency estimates a funding gap of $625 billion over the next two decades. For drinking water infrastructure alone, wastewater adds another $271 billion and in my small state, we could lose $90 million in cuts to SRFS. States really can't afford this. That's what they shared with us, and especially when we're talking about rising costs, whether for food or gas or anything else we people can't afford, one more higher bill."

Administrator Zeldin: "Yes, absolutely, and we'll make sure that that we're able to work closely with each of you."