Salmon targets BEACH Act programs in efforts to cut federal spending

The third bill in Rep. Matt Salmon’s (R-AZ) Shrink our Spending (SOS) Initiative seeks to continue cutting federal funding by targeting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act).

“Under the BEACH Act, federal experts are assigned to assist state and local governments in monitoring beach conditions,” Salmon said. “But President Obama and the EPA both agree that ‘state and local government programs have the technical expertise and procedures to continue beach monitoring without federal support.’”

Salmon, who is chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, started the SOS Initiative in 2014, identifying $1.5 billion in spending to cut from the federal budget. He is looking for $3 billion in cuts this year. The BEACH Act was created in 2000 to help state and local governments with beach monitoring programs. Cutting it represents $9.5 million in funding.

“Let’s work together,” Salmon said. “President Obama and I can mutually agree to cut wasteful federal spending like the EPA’s Beach Grant Program, so this should be an easy bill for Congress to generate instant savings for the U.S. taxpayer.”