Dingell calls for support of
EPA in light of budget cuts
Legislation
introduced
in state gov
to regulate
breath tests
Budget cuts to EPA
funding could lay
off 435 Ann Arbor-
based employees
By JENNIFER MEER
Summer Managing News Editor
On Monday afternoon, U.S.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Michigan)
addressed a crowd of approximately
70 media personnel, Environmental
Protection Agency employees and
environment advocates on the 2000
block of Traverwood Drive, outside
the EPA office in Ann Arbor. The
purpose of the press conference
was to draw attention to severe cuts
in EPA funding under the Trump
administration that could threaten
the closure of the National Vehicle
and Fuel Emissions Laboratory — a
part of the Ann Arbor facility that
employees 435 people.
The NVFEL, part of the EPA’s
Office of Transportation and Air
Quality, is a facility that provides
emission
testing
services
for
vehicles and engine programs,
among other things, according to its
website. It also certifies vehicles and
engines that meet federal emissions
and fuel economy standards.
In a letter to Trump, dated April
19, Dingell voiced concern for the
closure, asking the president to
reconsider the “misguided idea”
when making his final budget
proposal to Congress.
“Cutting EPA’s fuel economy
and
vehicle
emissions
budget
would create uncertainty, cost jobs,
and could potentially allow other
nations to gain a competitive edge
in this critically important work,”
she wrote.
Dingell,
who
toured
the
laboratory prior to speaking, said
the work she observed inside
“confirmed”
what
she
knows
happens every day at the EPA.
“To the employees — the working
men and women here — the work
you do here every single day keeps
our air clean to breathe and keeps
our nation on the cutting edge,”
she said. “You are our true public
servants and your work here has got
to be protected.”
Dingell
noted
the
Trump
administration is planning to cut
EPA funding by $2.6 billion, a 31
percent decrease — the largest
percentage cut of any agency in the
president’s budget.
She added it became evident
through a leaked budget document
that Trump is proposing drastic
cuts to the EPA’s fuel economy
and vehicle emission programs,
possibly resulting in the closure of
the NVFEL — an act she deemed
“unacceptable.”
“We need to understand what
we have here in Ann Arbor, among
us,” she said. “It is the world’s
premier environmental compliance
and
transportation
research
center. This facility does critical
work every single day to reduce
the vehicle emissions and ensure
that the United States remains at
the forefront of innovation in this
critical field, and that is critical
to our staying competitive and
creating jobs in this country.”
MAX KUANG/Daily
U.S representative Debbie Dingell (D-Mich) speaks at the EPA Press Conference outside the EPA in Ann Arbor on Monday.
ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Ann Arbor, MI
Weekly Summer Edition
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIV, No. 72 | © 2017 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS ......................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
NEWS
Health care
Students respond to GOP
Healthcare reform passage
in the House.
>> SEE PAGE 8
NEWS
Cancer detection
University researchers pro-
vide guidelines for prostate
cancer detection.
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Campus climate
“I am seemingly protected/
guarded by the ‘support’ of
the administration...”
>> SEE PAGE 5
ARTS
TV: ‘Silicon
Valley’ interview
Josh Brener discusses
real life Silicon Valley
>> SEE PAGE 5
SPORTS
Betsa’s legacy
The ace right-hander
leads Michigan into the
postseason.
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
2
4
6
8
9
10
Proposed bill would
only apply to minors
not behind wheel
By REMI MURREY
For the Daily
The Senate Judiciary Committee
has passed a new bill which, if
implemented, will require police to
attain a warrant when performing a
preliminary chemical breath analysis
on people younger than the age of
21. The bill will specifically apply to
minors who are not driving.
House Bill 4213, proposed by
state Rep. Peter Lucido (R–Shelby
Township)
would
amend
the
Michigan Liquor Control Code to
prohibit the administration of a
preliminary breath analysis if a minor
did not consent to it and require a
police officer to seek a court order
for such test. The new bill would also
eliminate tickets and fines, and two
points will no longer be added onto a
minor’s driving record for refusing to
submit to a breath test.
In a Facebook post, Lucido
emphasized the bill would not apply
to youth behind the wheel, but rather
in situations such as house parties or
walking down the street.
“Again, the bill would apply
specifically to people who were NOT
DRIVING,” he wrote. “Currently
under state law, police can ask people
under 21 to take breath tests in almost
any scenario — at a party they break
up, as passengers in a car they pull
over or walking down the street —
with probable cause.”
University students such LSA
senior Breanna Sullivan believe the
law would be good to enact, adding on
that a minor’s driving record should
GOVERNMENT
See DINGELL, Page 3
See BREATH TEST, Page 3