Highlights from the President's FY17 Environmental Protection Agency Budget Request

Enacted FY16 funding is used for comparisons unless otherwise noted.
The president’s FY17 budget request of $8.3 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reflects a 1.6 percent increase from the FY16 enacted budget. The main priority goals identified by the agency are to: reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks; advance resilience in the nation’s water infrastructure; clean up contaminated sites to enhance the livability and economic vitality of communities; assess and reduce risks posed by chemicals; and, strengthen environmental protection through business process improvements.

Science and Technology programs under the EPA would receive $754.2 million, an increase of 2.7 percent. Areas of EPA research that would receive funding under the proposed budget include:

• $101.2 million (10 percent increase) for air, climate, and energy research;
• $106.3 million (1.1 percent decrease) for safe and sustainable water resource research;
• $134 million (4 percent decrease) for research on sustainable communities; and,
• $134.2 million (5.7 percent increase) for chemical safety and sustainability research;

For the Climate Infrastructure Fund, a part of the president’s 21st Century Clean Transportation Plan, the EPA would receive $300 million of mandatory funding in FY17 to accelerate the transition to cleaner vehicle fleets, focusing on school bus upgrades that improve children’s health. The Climate Infrastructure Fund would provide $1.7 billion over the course of 10 years. The Climate Protection Program, which includes the ENERGY STAR program, the president’s Interagency Methane Strategy, and the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) to reduce the use and emissions of hydrofluorocarbons in key sectors, would receive $115.9 million (12 percent increase) in FY17 under the proposed budget.