WARNING: The article which follows contains no sensational material and includes no reference to impeachment, domestic spying, avian flu, or Tom Cruise. Read at your own risk.
In today’s Washington Post, Christopher Lee reports on the Bush administration’s proposal to significantly reduce funding for the system of libraries operated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If enacted, these budget cuts would constrain the ability of EPA staff and other researchers to access vital environmental information and would, in effect, add to the obstacles faced by those seeking to protect this country’s natural resources. According to OMB Watch, the cuts, which were originally announced back in February (but did not seem to receive much media attention), “are part of a larger package of EPA budget cuts that would slash $300 million, or 5 percent, from the agency’s 2006 funding levels.â€? The proposed cuts to the EPA Library Network have been denounced by such organizations as Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the American Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association. An excerpt from the Washington Post article follows:
Budget Cut Would Shutter EPA Libraries
Proposed budget cuts could cripple a nationwide system of Environmental Protection Agency libraries that government researchers and others depend on for hard-to-find technical information, library advocates say.
The $2 million cut sought by the White House would reduce the 35-year-old EPA Library Network’s budget by 80 percent and force many of its 10 regional libraries to close, according to the advocates and internal agency documents.
That, in turn, would dramatically reduce access to certain EPA reports, guidance and technical documents that are used by the agency’s scientific and enforcement staff as well as private businesses and citizens, they say….
The libraries provide documentation for enforcement cases and help EPA staff track new environmental technologies and the health risks associated with dangerous chemicals. They also are repositories of scientific information that is used to back up the agency’s position on new regulations and environmental reports and data that are tapped by everyone from developers to airports, to state and local officials. Their collections include hard-to-find copies of documents on federal Superfund hazardous waste sites, water-quality data and the health of regional ecosystems….
The public has a lot at stake in the future of these libraries, said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit advocacy group that obtained internal EPA documents on the proposed cuts.
“We view this as another example of the Bush administration marginalizing EPA research so that the agency scientists and other specialists can’t do their jobs,� Ruch said. “And then in the absence of information, plans by industries and others that have environmental implications go forward.� [full text]
Kmareka.com 
Typical. Got to slash money from something worthwhile in order to give it away to people who don’t need it.
Remember: most of the money for the tax cuts is coming from FICA contributions. That means the Bush admin is taking money from wage earners (i.e., all of us, most likely) and giving it to those at the apex of the pyramid. This is a redistribution of wealth upward.
Also note, when discussing potential cuts in Social Security benefits, there is no mention of a corresponding cut in the amount of FICA contributions.
Finally, the brilliance of this proposal is that it kills the proverbial two birds. It frees up money for another upward redistribution of wealth AND it makes it harder for people to find out what manner of depredations polluters are committing on the environment.
When people claim that Bush is a moron, I heartily disagree. Or, at least, Rove is certainly shrewd. If you assume that the intent of anything they do is to take money from the poor and give it to the rich, then pretty much everything they have done makes utter, perfect sense.
Iraq? Who has benefited from the Iraq War? The Oil Companies. What industry did Bush & Cheney come from? The oil companies. I realize I’m drifting very close to moonbat territory here, but I swear that the purpose of the Iraq war was to REDUCE Iraq’s oil production. Why? Because that drives up the price. And what has happnened? They “bungled” the occupation by deliberately sending in too few troops, and Iraq’s production is below what it was prior to the war.
And what has happened since they started rattling sabres at Iran? Remember, back, oh, around the first of the year (could be off on the dates) gas was back down to “only” $2.20/gallon, or even a bit less. Then, suddenly Iran takes great leaps forward in its nuclear program and !Shazam! it’s back to $3/gal. Coincidence? Perhaps. Other possible explanations and/or causes? Absolutely. But man, it’s the pattern.
Because if you keep asking who is benefitting, you keep coming back to the oil industry.
I’m almost hoping a certain visitor of the Bush/Laffey worshipping persuasion reads this and takes great umbrage. Heck, this should blow a gasket for him right off the bat instead of three rounds in.
Is this kooky talk? May very well be. Let’s say I’d love to be wrong, but, somehow….
Sorry, got OT there in a big way. The captain regrets to inform you that this thread has been hijacked by friendly fire….
Not good, the EPA/Energy issues is related….but on a separate note…. if we could convince our elected officials at the federal, state and local levels to push slashing 5% of costs across the board and simultaneously reduce middle class taxes by the same amount whether the government gain wouldn’t be more revenues offsetting the proposed cuts.