Environmental Protection Agency
A budget cut proposal from the Trump administration for the Environmental Protection Agency for FY2018 could cut the agency’s budget by 25 percent. This would reduce the agency’s overall budget to $6.1 billion. These budget cuts would target climate change initiatives and enforcement programs. The following cuts are being proposed:
- Grants to states for lead cleanup would get cut by 30 percent.
- Grants to help Native American tribes fight pollution would be cut 30 percent.
- Agency climate protection program designed to lower greenhouse gasses would be cut 70 percent.
Staffing cuts are also included and could reduce the EPA’s workforce by 20 percent, bringing the total number of EPA employees down to 12,400.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The Trump administration is also seeking to cut the NOAA budget by 17 percent for FY2018. These cuts would include:
- Cut the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric research by $126 million.
- Cut the satellite date division by $513 million.
- A five percent cut to the National Marine Fisheries Service and National Weather Service, both within the NOAA.
Despite proposed budget cuts, pay raises are still a possibility. The Office of management and Budget is seeking cost information from the Commerce Department for laying off NOAA employees. Layoffs could be included in these budget cuts, however, the OMB said that the remaining NOAA employees should get a 1.9 percent pay increase beginning in January 2018.
Per data, FY2015 (the latest available salary data), the average salary for NOAA employees was $99,559.94 for 11,501 employees.
