EPA Employees Protest Trump Administration's Proposed Budget Cuts

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A few dozen Chicago-based employees of the Environmental Protection Agency demonstrated Thursday afternoon at Federal Plaza, upset over proposed budget cuts by the Trump administration.

President Trump was the target of the EPA employee protest. WBBM's Steve Miller reports.

EPA Attorney Nicole Cantello, who's also a union leader, said the administration's proposed budget would prevent EPA from responding properly to a scenario like East Chicago - where a cleanup is going on after high lead levels were found.

"EPA - this region - responded with 30 to 60 people that worked full-time on that site for a certain amount of time. If you take a 25 percent cut of the people in this region, we won't be able to respond like that."

Supporting the EPA workers: some Chicago Alderman, like Raymond Lopez of the 15th Ward on the South Side - who worked President Trump into his remarks.

"We're not going backwards. He can go back."

Rally organizers urged EPA employees to write their representatives and oppose any budget cuts.

In:
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Protest
• Steve Miller