Salim Suzuki / Reuters)

As a member of Congress overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, I’m responsible for supporting the agency and Congress’ efforts to protect the environment from toxic air, water and rock. I had a chance to ask EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last week for his take on the Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts to the agency’s budget, which he said would put EPA, along with other federal agencies, on an “explosion course.” Here’s today’s exclusive excerpt:

Q. Do you think the EPA could survive through a major government cut?

A. I’m not sure we have to think about that on a day-to-day basis.

Q. Do you think that the EPA could survive a cut in funding at the level proposed by the Budget Control Act that would remove the EPA’s ability to monitor mercury emissions and restrict its ability to impose fines and fees on polluters? And in the longer term, how would that impact the EPA, given that you’ve spent a substantial amount of your career on environmental protection?

A. It’s hard for me to make any direct predictions on the budget, I certainly won’t. I mean, it doesn’t mean that the EPA can’t survive a cut, but it doesn’t mean that the agencies can’t survive cuts. There will be some agency actions that will be affected by the proposed budget.

Q. How can that be, though, when the EPA has spent 10 years monitoring pollution and developing rules to reduce mercury?

A. That’s an important issue that really, I think, is a function of a lack of federal leadership in air, water, and energy. Our regulations are designed to protect the health and welfare of the American public. To have some of those protections taken away in my lifetime is going to be very difficult.

But we can still do lots of things to reduce emissions and reduce pollution. To cut regulations is just one option in that process.

There’s a great quote, especially for an agency that is still struggling, coming from a person who came from the Department of Energy: “It is easy to forget that the EPA has worked, and not just the Environmental Protection Agency. We have spent over a hundred years making the public believe we are good stewards and responsible stewards. We have done a lot of harm, but we have done a lot of good.” And that’s true