Many, many government programs get the ax in the blueprint of President Donald John Trump’s first budget proposal. We have been hearing about them for the past week. The victim whose loss may affect us most closely is the cleanup program for the Chesapeake Bay.

The proposed Trump budget is worse than we anticipated. Last week, we wrote that it reportedly would reduce funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup, from $73 million to $5 million. But the proposal released last Thursday, in its own words, “Eliminates funding for specific regional efforts such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay, and other geographic programs.”

No money for our great Bay! This is an utter reversal of previous bipartisan federal initiatives,  cloaked under the guise that “The Budget returns the responsibility for funding local environmental efforts and programs to State and local entities, allowing EPA to focus on its highest national priorities.”

The Chesapeake Bay became a national priority because it is not a state or local interest; it is a regional interest, its problems contributed to by the actions of Americans from the head of the Susquehanna River down to Cape Charles and Cape Henry in Virginia, through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, and from innumerable tributaries and estuaries.

There is no way, as the blueprint cynically suggests, that local and state efforts can come anywhere close to producing funding for the Chesapeake Bay comparable to what Washington has provided.

What the people in our affected areas (and those of the Great Lakes states) should do, must do, is to contact their members of Congress and the members of their state legislatures. 

Here is contact information for them:

Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat: warner.senate.gov; 475 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; 202-224-2023.

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat: kaine.senate.gov; 231 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; 202-224-4024.

Rep. Rob Wittman, Republican, First District: wittman.house.gov; 2055 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; 202-225-4261. District office, 401 Main Street, P.O. Box 494, Yorktown, Va. 23690; 757-874-6687.

The Trump budget has plenty of winners in the military and homeland security, but it awards plums to them at the expense of one of the greatest bodies of water in the United States. Can this stand? Do we care?

What some of our elected officials have said:

Governor Terry McAuliffe: “Eliminating federal support to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, doing away with the Appalachian Regional Commission and slashing investments in community development, affordable housing, home weatherization, and heating assistance will do significant harm to Virginia families and our economy. As will the President’s stated goal of gutting the federal workforce.”

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam: “President Trump’s budget proposal demonstrates a fundamental disconnect between his administration’s priorities and Virginia’s values. I am particularly disappointed by the total elimination of funding to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. As an Eastern Shore native, I know protecting the Bay has both economic and environmental impacts.”

Sen. Mark Warner: “We’ve seen from President Trump a dramatic denial of any kind of environmental consequences. We’ve seen an EPA administrator who I voted against who denies climate change. I’d love to take him down to Norfolk where we’ve got sea level rise, challenging many parts of that great city. And boy, oh boy, in this budget did he go after the environment. He cuts 3,600 jobs from EPA. He cut the EPA budget by more than 30 percent. And in terms of Virginia specifically—regardless of where we live, we all value the Chesapeake Bay—one of our great treasures. And under Democrats and Republicans alike we’ve worked with federal partners to try to clean up the Bay. This is the first President that proposes fully eliminating all federal support for clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay. That’s wrong. That’s wrong in terms of enjoying that great bay for recreation, it’s wrong in terms of our tourism industry, it’s wrong in terms of our fishing industry, it’s wrong in terms of those communities affected by climate change and sea level rise.”

Sen. Tim Kaine: “Budgets show us a President’s priorities, and based on what President Trump released today, I’m concerned that he’s continuing to push policies that would hurt Virginians. While I support the Administration’s commitment to investments in defense, deep cuts to the State Department jeopardize our national security. …Just weeks after President Trump promised us clean water and air in his joint address to Congress, he released a budget that completely eliminates the Chesapeake Bay Program and radically cuts funding for the agency that protects water resources like the James River and monitoring sea level rise in Hampton Roads. And I’m disappointed that President Trump’s promises to fix our crumbling infrastructure so far haven’t amounted to any action to fix the roads and bridges of Virginia.”

Rep. Rob Wittman spoke the week before the budget was released, urging full funding, not the anticipated cut, for the Bay restoration.