Regulatory agencies' funding up in Bush's budget

Abstract

Under President Bush's fiscal 1991 budget proposal, funding for the regulatory agencies that interact in one way or another with the chemical community is generally up by well over both the 3% rise slated for the government as a whole and the predicted 4% inflation rate. For instance, the Office of Management & Budget points out that the 12% increase to $2.2 billion requested for the Environmental Protection Agency in fiscal 1991 is one of the largest requested for any government agency's operating budget. Within that total funding for EPA, enforcement activities would rise 22% to $419 million. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly says this increase serves notice that President Bush and EPA are committed to sustained, tough, predictable enforcement of the nation's environmental laws. The increase would allow for the addition of more compliance inspectors, attorneys, criminal investigators, and technical experts to the agency's staff. EPA says its goal is to ensure that complex ...