The current budget stalemate in the
US has led to environmental management paying a heavy price as all
major environment related programmes have been stalled indefinitely for want of clearance of
funds. The US Geological Survey
has had to stop soil testing at
hundreds of toxic waste sites -
potential threats to community
water systems and rivers. The
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) also has had to send back
nearly 2,400 of its 'Superfund
workers' who help in the toxic
waste cleanup at 609 sites across
the nation.
The impasse has arisen because
the Republicans advocate heavy
slashes on medicare and environment programmes, while the government refuses to concede believing that these issues are at the core
of American values. Says Al Gore,
the US vice president, "They,
want to balance the budget by
unbalancing the environment."
The US senate has already
approved two bills which hit conservation and environment programmes deeply. The bill paying
for EPA's functioning foresees cuts
of hundreds of millions of dollars,
which would have gone towards
sewage and drinking water
treatment plants.
Experts say tabs have been forced to dose down, new patients are
being denied admission to experimental treatment programmes and
thousands of scientists have failed
to procure research money.
At the EPA, morale is as scarce
as the funds. Facing the spectre of
joblessness from May this year are
nearly 3,000 to 5,000 federal
employees if the Republican hill
gets underway. The Republican-led
Congress wants to strip the EPA of
funds on grounds of being over-
staffed. Even important natural
sites and tourist attractions, like
the Yellowstone National Park,
have been forced to close too, much
to the disgust of the local populace
whose livelihood depends on the
tourist pickings.
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