The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (containing the Executive Branch’s proposal for Fiscal Year 2026) was signed into law on July 4th. Trump’s proposed budget suggests several federal funding cuts and spending changes that, in addition to continuing his efforts to wrest policy making from Congress and consolidate it in the Executive branch, could significantly and negatively impact the residents of the Greater Grand Rapids area, the state of Michigan, and the Great Lakes region, with more substantial, longer-term implications for our citizenry to live healthy, safe, and productive lives. The Trump Administration proposed cuts eviscerate critical federal contributions to a wide range of programs Congress established to research, monitor, prevent and address a myriad of natural and human-caused threats affecting public health, natural resources, economic resiliency, and the environment. The full impact of these suggested cuts will be determined by Congress as it works to fund the government and pass legislation that is required to renew, or “reauthorize,” federal programs by the upcoming October 1st start of the new fiscal year.
While negotiation is active, it is essential for people to call Congressional representatives and strongly encourage them to reauthorize and direct funding to these important programs.
While the President’s proposed draconian budget sets a marker down for spending decisions, and in effect determining policy changes, the House and Senate have been working on their respective proposed budgets within baseline spending caps that deviate from Trump’s proposal. Currently, the Senate’s budget is a little less harsh than both the House’s or Administration’s proposed budgets and cuts to agencies and programs associated with environmental and natural resource protections. If Congress does not reach agreement on a final Congressional budget, or, alternatively, opt to pass one or more continuing resolutions (CRs) to buy time to finalize the 2026 budget, the government will be out of money and will shut down October 1st or at the conclusion of any CRs. As the debate currently stands, when the dust settles, and eventually a budget is finalized, in all likelihood, there will be dramatic reductions to critical programs with negative implications to public health, the environment and our natural resources.
Taken as a whole, the federal government is pulling away from programs established by Congress by slashing funding distributed by key agencies and implemented at the local levels.
Consequently, our Greater Grand Rapids community, like other communities across the country, will be less protected from environmental contamination of our drinking water and air; less prepared for extreme heat, flooding, and other weather events; less able to mitigate the impact of invasive species threatening our fisheries and our health; and, lose out on economic opportunities that will help us meet the future demands for energy due to growing populations, competition among an increasing number of large users of energy and water (i.e. mining for critical minerals, such as copper, agriculture in increasingly drought conditions, and newly incentivized data center sites.
See excellent webinar provided by the Alliance for The Great Lakes: Preparing the Great Lakes Region for High Water Users).
Multiple federal agencies with environmental, natural resource and public health responsibilities are targeted for substantial budget reductions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is top of the list with a proposed overall cut in Trump’s budget of 55%. In the House proposal, EPA’s total budget is cut by 23%, while in the Senate’s proposal, EPA would lose 7% of its overall budget. Obviously, the differences in these budgets are dramatic, but all propose significant cuts to EPA.
Why and how do these cuts matter to people living in the Greater Grand Rapids area?
Let’s look at one EPA program as an example: the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) authorized under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. The SRFs is the primary federal program for funding water infrastructure projects that provide safe drinking water by replacing leaking, damaged or contaminated pipes, addressing contaminants such as PFAS, as well as preventing flooding and sewage threats to water systems. Trump’s budget cuts this fund by 88%. This number includes an estimated $84.1 million cut to Michigan’s federal funding for water infrastructure programs. These funds are critical to Greater Grand Rapids residents, as demonstrated by Congresswoman Hillary Scholten’s recent announcement of FY 2025 funds from “Community Project Funding” for wastewater treatment improvements in our district. The two projects awarded funds include:
“$1,092,000 for the City of Grand Haven to remediate environmental contamination at Harbor Island in order to protect drinking water sources, prevent PFAS pollution of the Great Lakes, and return the site to public use. Harbor Island is home to an orphaned electricity plant. The funds will be used for hazardous material removal, groundwater protection, and site restoration.”
“$1,092,000 for the City of Grand Rapids to upgrade a wastewater treatment facility. The funds will renovate the outdated UV disinfection system at the Water Resource Recovery Facility.”
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that EPA examine the needs for infrastructure improvements and maintenance at public water systems in the United States. To accomplish this, EPA is required to conduct a survey and assessment every four years. The most recent survey was the 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, the report on which was released in April of 2023. The SDWA mandates that EPA use this survey to develop a formula to distribute drinking water SRF capitalization grants to states. The 20-year national drinking water infrastructure needed for the United States as estimated by the 7th DWINSA is $625 billion, according to the EPA Fact Sheet.
So, as data indicate a dramatically growing need for greater investment in water infrastructure as essential for providing safe drinking water, the current budget discussions are arguing over how much to cut these critical funds. Trump’s budget as a whole is moving in this direction of perilously less or elimination of federal investment in programs outside of defense and homeland security, along with substantial tax breaks for the wealthy, and overall ballooning of the national debt.
In addition to clean drinking water, the Trump budget cuts to EPA programs will kneecap the Clean Air Act requirements for reporting, enforcement and initiatives incentivizing clean energy projects, undermining any promotion of clean energy development, including associated jobs, and combatting climate change. The Clean Air Act protections already took a serious blow with the passage of the Congressional Review Act, signed into law in June of 2025, allowing major industrial polluting facilities to re-classify as minor sources, thereby avoiding stricter hazardous pollution controls.
Other agencies the Trump budget targets to receive deep cuts in resources include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (-19%), the Interior Department (including the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, -31%), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (-18%), all of which play key roles in restoring and protecting the Great Lakes through programs enabling action on the ground and the administration of critical scientific research and data collection.
Most notable regarding the proposed cuts to NOAA by the Administration is the elimination of all research on climate, weather and oceans. Relatedly, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) would be shut down. OAR funds many research facilities around the country, including in the Great Lakes and specifically in Michigan. The Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the collaborative research organization, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), are co-located in Ann Arbor. Research conducted by the public-private partnership at CIGLR focuses on addressing critical challenges facing the Great Lakes ecosystem and the people who live here. One such research initiative is the monitoring of hazardous algal blooms (HABS) which emerge during the summer months with the combination of warmer temperatures and agricultural runoff. Monitoring information they collect and assess determines the safety of drinking water and protection of swimmers, fishermen, boaters and others exposed to HABs in the environment. The House bill keeps the OAR but cuts their budget by $257 million, raising questions about some of these important research programs. It currently is unknown whether GLERL or CIGLR will be affected and how substantially their work in the Great Lakes region will be reduced. While it also is thought that the Senate will maintain some of the programs of NOAA, including OAR, it is unclear to what degree and how their funding and programs will be changed in FY 2026.
What YOU Can Do NOW!
As long as budget discussions are underway, which will continue at least until September 30th, and possibly over the course of one or more continuing resolutions, there is opportunity for people to speak out to support the reauthorization and funding of these critical programs to the Greater Grand Rapids area and Great Lakes Region, including:
Call Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (202.225.3831) to thank her for securing funds for water infrastructure and keep fighting for more investment in these critical projects, as well as for those programs and associated agencies essential to research, monitor and act to protect the Great Lakes now and in the future and the associated livelihoods of the people who live here. Specific programs include:
The EPA’s Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds
NOAA’s Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the centers they support, including the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR).
Call Senators Peters (202.224.6221) and Slotkin (202.224.4822) to support the above programs and hold the Trump Administration accountable for the federal government’s responsibility to honor their investment in programs established by Congress and with the support of the American people.
Footnotes:
1.Jodrey, Don, Director of Federal Government Relations, Alliance for the Great Lakes, “Trump Budget Proposal Slashes Federal Funding, Threatens the Great Lakes and Sets Up Showdown with Congress” Blogpost, May 6, 2025
2.Ibid
3.August 5, 2025 Press Release, Office of Congresswoman Hillary Scholten
4.Environmental Defense Fund, May 22, 2025, “House Votes to Undo Industrial Air Pollution Protections,” Statement from the EDF VP for Political and Government Affairs, Joanna Slaney
5.Jodrey, Don, Director of Federal Government Relations, Alliance for the Great Lakes, “Trump Budget Proposal Slashes Federal Funding, Threatens the Great Lakes and Sets Up Showdown with Congress” Blogpost, May 6, 2025
6.Jodrey, Don, Director of Federal Government Relations, Alliance for the Great Lakes, “Critical Months Ahead for the Great Lakes in Congress,” Blogpost, July 17, 2025.
We are be grateful for you to press the ❤️ button at the top or bottom of this email. Not only do we love hearing from you, pressing that little ❤️, makes it easier for other people to find us and that helps our community grow and become even stronger. Thank you for reading and spreading the word!
This donnie criminal regime administration is, killing the lesser of us, here in america and, around the world. And, donnie and his criminal cohort's are, noticably gleeful! 💙✊ 2026 en mass!!!