Proposed rollbacks to EPA regulations would hurt the environment, along with Americans’ health, longevity, and financial well-being, according to a group of supporters of the agency’s work in Michigan, who called a press conference on Friday to urge Congress to intervene to protect the EPA’s core mission.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said he wants to roll back numerous regulations approved by the Biden administration to more strictly regulate air and water pollution.

Zeldin also plans to shutter the EPA’s environmental justice offices. Those focus on the disproportionately high levels of pollution facing poor communities. He said the changes would end “forced discrimination,” create jobs, and save Americans money.

State Representative Julie Brixie (D-Meridian Township) said during the press conference that one of her first jobs was working on contaminated sites in Michigan. She said now, as a legislator, she knows how important it is to Michiganders that their ground, water and air be protected from pollution.

“It’s concerning to me that our executive branch is seeking to undermine these important programs under the guise of economic restrictions,” said Brixie. “We know that protecting our environment both saves lives and generates substantial economic growth.”

Ellie Hagen, a scientist who works in the EPA environmental justice region that covers Michigan, said those who criticize the work of the agency’s environmental justice divisions have no understanding of the critical work they do. She said the Trump administration is selling the American public a lie by claiming it must dismantle public services and degrade the environment in order to boost the economy.

“Slashing vital environmental protections and public health programs does not make us more efficient,” Hagen said. “It makes us sicker. Slashing public resources for vulnerable children and families is not patriotic and it does not make us great again. It makes us weak.”

The press conference was organized by the Michigan chapter of Moms Clean Air Force, and included speakers from the Environmental Law and Policy Center, and the Michigan chapter of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America.