"Obama Proposing Clean-Water Cuts Amid Flint Outcry"

"The Obama administration is expected to propose a $250 million cut to its primary funding source for water and sewer systems as part of its budget proposal Tuesday — a prospect that is bringing bipartisan criticism amid the furor over lead contamination in Flint, Mich.

The budget calls for adding $158 million to an Environmental Protection Agency program that offers grants and low-interest loans to help states and cities improve their drinking water systems, according to a source familiar with the proposal. But it would pay for that by making even larger cuts to an EPA clean water program that helps reduce pollution at the source, a trade-off that lawmakers on both sides call foolish.

"We cannot take money away from the fund that cleans up the polluted Flint River — the source of Flint’s drinking water — and put it into fixing Flint’s pipes," said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who called himself "grossly disappointed" by the proposal. Cardin noted that the administration's expected request for drinking water spending is lower than what President Barack Obama sought last year, even if it's more than what Congress wound up providing."

Annie Snider reports for Politico February 8, 2016 with Alex Guillen.

SEE ALSO:

"Dems Seek To Elevate Issue; Clinton Makes Stop" (E&E Daily)

"CNN Schedules Democratic Debate In Flint" (The Hill)

"Clinton: 'What Happened In Flint Is Immoral'" (The Hill)

"Flint Mayor To Testify Before Democrats" (The Hill)

"Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint" (New York Times)

"Michigan Governor Won’t Attend Dems’ Hearing On Flint" (The Hill)

"Lead Contamination of Flint Water Draws Multiple Lawsuits" (AP)

"Water Privatizers Have Their Eye on Flint’s Lead Crisis" (The Nation)

"The White House Wants To Spend $300 Million On A Water Revolution" (Co.Exist)

"Aging Water Infrastructure ‘Nearing The End Of Its Useful Life’" (Investigate Midwest: 6/23/2014)