Nonhealth Environmental Research Congressional appropriators were even less generous with environmental research not directly related to health, according to Peter Backlund, a staff member of the Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources, a subcommittee of the interagency National Science and Technology Council which operates from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The EPA's Environmental Technology Program, global change research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the DOE, and the DOE's solar and renewable energy research programs have been targeted for cuts, Backlund said, which the Clinton administration believes will hinder efforts to improve scientific knowledge about environmental issues. But budget cuts are likely to recur, Backlund said, and agencies will have to constantly assess the efficiency of their programs and eliminate duplication, which are key objectives of the National Science and Technology Council. The National Association of Manufacturers' Cohen believes improvements in efficiency will help federal agencies, like private businesses, accomplish more in spite of less funding. The private sector has coped with strained resources and learned how to operate more efficiently, Cohen commented, and government will have to do likewise.
Government can do things better and smarter.
Browner said funding would be eliminated for local governments to improve drinking water systems, and no new cleanups would occur under the Superfund. OSHA estimated that reduced funding would cause an additional 50,000 workplace injuries, and Keith Mestrich, an occupational safety and health specialist with the AFL-CIO, predicted more hazardous releases into communities surrounding plants if OSHA's compliance activities are severely curtailed. A strong enforcement program not only identifies companies that don't comply, but also deters businesses from violating OSHA rules, Mestrich said. If businesses know that OSHA will not be able to enforce its rules, companies may have little incentive to comply, he said. Sharon Buccino, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Karen Florini, staff attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, believe the size of the House's proposed cuts, coupled with regulatory reform, are part of an effort to radically alter environmental policy.