When the new federal funding bill was signed into law a couple weeks ago, it wasn't an accident that it fully supported EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program—a critical piece of Chesapeake restoration.
More than 40,000 individuals signed petitions, wrote letters, or called their representatives urging critical investment in Bay restoration. And these actions made a difference.
A group of passionate Bay advocates from Virginia took it a step further, traveling to Capitol Hill in late February—before the federal funding bill passed—to meet with their representatives. Watch this two-minute video of their day lobbying for clean water:
In meetings throughout the day, advocates passionately shared their stories of why clean water and the Bay matters. They talked of our collective obligation to leave a legacy of clean water to future generations and presented clearly defined asks to legislators, including full funding for the Bay Program.
We are inspired by these advocates and everyone who urged their representatives to stand up for the Bay. And now it is important we thank them. While the continued funding for the Bay Program is a small victory, the Trump Administration's FY19 budget proposal cuts 90 percent of the Bay Program's funding.
Thanking your representative now is the best way to ensure Congress continues to save the day—and the Bay Program. Please take a moment to thank them.
As we witness time and again, advocacy really does make a difference. Reflecting on his experience, CBF advocate Mike Taylor sums it up best: "It's a great feeling to see democracy in action and be part of it. A lot of people don't take advantage of that and, if more of us did, I think we'd have better government."
We couldn't agree more.
