Health and environmental officials in Michigan are calling on Republican Rep. Mike Bishop to vote against President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget.
The president’s proposal would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by nearly one-third in 2018.
Opponents say that would drastically relax pollution control standards that keep noxious gas emissions in check.
Kindra Weid is a registered nurse and a coordinator with the group Michigan Air Michigan Health. She says air pollution triggers so-called “impact days.”
“Those are days when people have such severe respiratory symptoms that they aren’t able to carry on with their regular activities,” says Weid. “This decreases productivity as well, so there’s something to be said about the economics of this.”
Weid says Congressman Mike Bishop isn’t doing enough to protect the EPA from funding cuts. Bishop could not be reached for comment for this story.
