Federal Candidate Questionnaire

The second Trump administration and the current U.S. Congress are the most hostile to environmental and health protections that we have experienced. Critical clean water, clean air and other programs have been rolled back, and climate change programs virtually eliminated. Reckless staffing cuts and extreme budget reduction proposals are ongoing at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies. Will you support rebuilding programs and reversing rollbacks of critical safeguards?

Clean Water Act programs are responsible for over 50 years of progress in cleaning up and protecting our nation’s vital water resources. The Trump administration is proposing to redefine which water bodies are protected and rolling back critical programs. Will you support restoring protections for wetlands and streams, reversing rollbacks, and modernizing the Act’s programs to better protect drinking water sources and improve water quality?

Our nation’s drinking water and wastewater systems need billions of dollars of infrastructure improvements to update aging facilities. Small and rural systems often lack the technical, managerial, and financial capacity to plan, design, and build needed infrastructure projects and therefore require technical assistance as part of any funding package. Will you support ongoing robust federal investments in drinking water and wastewater facilities?

Communities of color and low-income communities bear the greatest burden of environmental pollution, have the least access to programs to clean up this pollution, and are too often left out of decision-making processes that affect their communities. The Trump administration has gutted federal programs meant to address this disparity. Will you support legislation like the Environmental Justice for All Act that would codify and expand the 1994 Executive Order on Environmental Justice, require all federal agencies to embed environmental justice issues in their work, and require consideration of cumulative impacts in permit decisions?

The White House budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026 proposed massive cuts to EPA’s budget, and those of other federal agencies addressing environmental and health protections have failed to keep up with their increased responsibilities. This reduces their ability to adequately implement vital programs. Will you support increased funding for federal programs that protect the environment and public health and oppose anti-environment riders and amendments during the appropriations process?

In 2025, the Trump administration proposed repealing the “endangerment finding” that allowed EPA to regulate global warming pollution. The administration also abandoned international processes that address climate change. EPA and other federal agencies have shuttered clean energy and climate change programs, and EPA is weakening pollution reductions from the nation’s dirtiest coal plants. Will you support reversing the federal government’s abandonment of policies and programs that were meant to curb carbon pollution and head off the worst climate change impacts?

Twenty-five percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. come from coal, oil and gas extraction on public lands. Proposed new offshore leases along the US coastline will increase GHG emissions and their health harming co-pollutants. Will you support actions and policies that end fossil fuel extraction and production on federal lands and reverse decisions to open the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters for drilling?

Considering the water quality and drinking water risks from oil spills and the global climate crisis, will you oppose efforts to build new fossil fuel infrastructure and advocate for the decommissioning of outdated and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure? One example is the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which is operating 20 years past its intended lifespan and threatens the Great Lakes.

PFAS, or so-called “forever chemicals,” are a class of human-made chemicals that are toxic even in very low concentrations and highly persistent and mobile in the environment. They have been increasingly found in water across the nation, including drinking water sources, and are in many consumer products, food packaging, and firefighting foam/gear. Will you support legislative proposals or EPA action to limit use of these chemicals as a class (defined as those with one fully fluorinated carbon atom) and to hold polluters accountable for the damage they have done?

In the absence of swift federal action on PFAS chemicals, states have begun to address the problem, for example with bans on PFAS in food packaging and other uses. Several proposals to weaken the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and preempt these state programs have been introduced or are pending in the U.S. Congress. Will you protect states’ ability to address threats to the environment and public health and oppose weakening TSCA?

While single-use plastics create both waste management challenges for local governments and costs for rate-payers, the fossil fuel industry is looking to expand its production significantly. This continued pollution will exacerbate the existing problem and leach toxic chemicals into our land and water supplies. Will you support policies that prioritize zero waste strategies, composting, and reuse programs that prevent pollution, waste, and health risks, particularly the pollution burden on front-line communities that host disposal facilities?

Will you oppose facilities that burn plastics, which are often called chemical recycling, pyrolysis, gasification, and other misleading names?

The proliferation of large-scale data centers brings along with it the potential for negative environmental and economic impacts along with stresses to local water resources, infrastructure, and the electric grid. This has led to increased concern in communities around the country. Will you oppose any efforts by the federal government to usurp or preempt local and state policies that seek to address impacts from data centers?

Clean Water’s research has exposed significant electoral spending by fossil fuel interests, which in turn distorts the country’s energy and climate policies. Will you pledge to not take any campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies, their executives, or lobbyists?

The foundations of our democracy are being challenged by restricting the freedom to vote, unlimited spending on campaigns, and extreme gerrymandering. Will you support legislation like The Freedom To Vote Act and The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect voting rights and access, ensure fair and representative redistricting, strengthen election security, reduce the influence of dark money in politics, and strengthen legal protections against voting discrimination?