White House budget would cut EPA by 31%, Labor Dept. by 21%

The White House 2018 budget requests $5.7 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, a savings of $2.6 billion, or 31 percent, from the 2017 annualized continuing resolution (CR) level. The President’s 2018 Budget:  Discontinues funding for the Clean Power Plan, international climate change programs, climate change research and partnership programs, and related efforts —saving more than $100 million for the American taxpayer compared to 2017 annualized CR levels. Reins in Superfund administrative costs and emphasizes efficiency efforts by funding the Hazardous Substance Superfund Account at $762 million, $330 million below the 2017 annualized CR level. The agency would prioritize the use of existing settlement funds to clean up hazardous waste sites and look for ways to remove some of the barriers that have delayed the program’s ability to return sites to the community. The White House 2018 Budget requests $9.6 billion for the Department of Labor, a $2.5 billion or 21 percent decrease from the 2017 annualized continuing resolution (CR) level. The President’s 2018 Budget:• Eliminates the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s training grants, yielding savings of almost $11 million from the 2017 annualized CR level.• Expands Reemployment and Eligibility Assessments, an evidence-based activity that saves an average of $536 per claimant in unemployment insurance benefit costs by reducing improper payments and getting claimants back to work more quickly and at higher wages. Reduces funding for job training grants. As part of this, eliminates the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), for a savings of $434 million from the 2017 annualized CR level. The White House said SCSEP is ineffective in meeting its purpose of transitioning low-income unemployed seniors into unsubsidized jobs. As many as one-third of participants fail to complete the program and of those who do, only half successfully transition to unsubsidized employment.