Will Your Legislators DEFEND Your Right to Clean Drinking Water or Continue to DE-FUND the Departments that Protect Public Health?
On August 8, the secretaries of the NC Dpt. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the NC Dpt. of Health and Human Services (DHHS) sent a letter to state legislators, requesting emergency funding to help fund the investigation into the GenX contamination of the Cape Fear River. They cited a lack of manpower due to the elimination of 70 positions in their departments.
"We ask that when you reconvene in September, you authorize an emergency appropriation to provide North Carolina with more frequent testing, scientists, medical experts, engineers and inspectors," the letter said.
The DEQ is requesting $2,049,569 and the DHHS is asking for $530,839. For more on the request, click HERE.
Clean Cape Fear is reaching out to legislators to ask if they will DEFEND the people of North Carolina or continue to DE-FUND these vital departments that were put in place to protect and ensure public health.
DEFEND OR DE-FUND TRACKER
DEFEND
Brunswick, New Hanover
Deb Butler (D) - Response rec'd 8/8/17
DE-FUND
New Hanover
Micheal Lee (R) - Response rec'd 8/9/17
New Hanover
Bill Rabon (R) - Response rec'd 8/9/17
NO COMMENT
New Hanover
Holly Grange (R)
Ted Davis (R)
Brunswick
Frank Iler (R)
Cumberland:
Elmer Floyd (D)
John Szoka (R)
Bladen, Johnston, Sampson:
William Brisson (D)
Bladen, Columbus, Robeson:
Brenden Jones (R)
Duplin, Sampson, Wayne:
Larry Bell (D)
Onslow, Pender:
Chris Millis (R)
8/8/17 - Rep. Deb Butler announced her full support via her public Facebook message.
8/8/17 - Sen. Mike Lee & Sen. Bill Rabon sent a letter to Gov. Cooper which, in our minds, read more like playing politics than coming together to do the right thing. NO parent should have to wonder or worry if something in the water made their child sick. NO person should have to worry if the water gave them thyroid cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, auto-immune disease, etc. Prolonging this worry and anxiety in order to play politics is morally bankrupt behavior. We have no other way to read their intentions than assume they are AGAINST this emergency funding--which is only 0.01% of the total state budget--and NC is sitting on a surplus right now.