Gov. Maura Healey stated the Trump administration terminated slightly below $1 million in grant {dollars} promised to the state to handle bronchial asthma in Western Massachusetts, a transfer the governor argued undermines efforts to enhance residents’ well being.
The federal Environmental Safety Company withheld virtually $900,000 from the state Division of Public Health to help “in-home environmental remediations” like mould elimination and improved air flow in Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield, in response to the Healey administration.
In a press release Friday morning, Healey stated prioritizing enhancing air high quality is “essential” as excessive warmth, droughts, and wildfires grow to be extra widespread.
“This is just their latest attack on the health and well-being of communities across our country,” she stated.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Safety Company blasted former President Joe Biden and Gov. Maura Healey, arguing the previous president “shouldn’t have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and preferencing on the EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
“Partisan actors can spin this grant cancellation in any which way they choose, this is an ‘environmental and climate justice’ grant, not about asthma. The first pillar of Administrator Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative is providing clean air, land, and water for all Americans,” the spokesperson stated in a press release.
The Healey administration stated the Environmental Safety Company promised $1 million over three years to Massachusetts however is withholding almost the entire money. The cash was slated for tasks that tackle bronchial asthma in “communities in residents and communities disproportionately at risk,” in response to the Healey administration.
The funding was additionally set to move to group engagement, “capacity building,” and “cross-bureau collaboration” throughout the Division of Public Health to handle environmental hazards and “to build community-level adaptability and resiliency to address public health threats,” the governor stated.
Division of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein stated the funding represented “health, equity, and dignity.”
“We have used these grants to address the root causes of asthma in communities that have been historically underserved — places where too many children struggle to breathe because of preventable environmental conditions,” Goldstein stated in a press release. “The loss of this support is a grave injustice to the families of Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield who deserve the same opportunities for health and well-being as everyone else in our Commonwealth and in our country.”
The Healey administration stated it has submitted a “formal dispute” contesting the Environmental Safety Company’s determination to terminate the funding.
The Trump administration has cancelled or pulled again grant {dollars} throughout myriad sectors in Massachusetts since he took workplace in January, together with money for Okay-12 faculties, lead pipe substitute, and different tasks throughout the state.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno stated the cash for asthma-related tasks was wanted to “tackle this challenging and multifaceted public health issue.”
“Believe you me, I know firsthand, for my youngest daughter Chiara has had to deal with a serious case of Asthma. Mr. President, many people who voted for and supported you and/or their family members and friends are afflicted with Asthma, and now you turn your back on them? In the name of public health, I ask President Trump to review and reverse this edict,” Sarno stated in a press release.
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