The White House proposal to further expand the EPA’s numbers after years of staffing levels decline was greeted with immediate pushback from congressional Republicans, who said it would grow a regulatory state that “kills” American industry.
The EPA budget request released Thursday calls for $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for fiscal 2024, which represents a $1.9 billion, or 19 percent, increase from the 2023 enacted level. It would also make an estimated $2.5 billion in Superfund tax revenue available to the agency, funds that are raised through excise taxes on certain chemicals and crude oil products.
Chief among the benefits touted by the White House was the fact that it would allow the agency to add 2,400 jobs.
