Story highlights GOP lawmakers fear what EPA cuts would mean to their districts

A number are worried about what cuts would mean for key industries

Washington (CNN) GOP lawmakers peppered EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt with tough questions Thursday regarding proposed budget cuts to the agency that many feared would result in drastic changes to their states.

At a House hearing on the White House's proposed EPA budget, a number of Republican members of Congress vocally objected to the proposed cuts that would slash funding by more than 30% , putting it back to 1990 levels.

"May I say I share at times some of the animus that's aimed at your agency by a variety of different groups," appropriations subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-New Jersey, told Pruitt.

"We are home to a historical background that shows us to have more Superfund sites than any other in the nation," Frelinghuysen said of New Jersey, which houses numerous sites marked federally for cleanup of hazardous substance contamination. "I know there has been a proposal here to reduce substantial funding for this program."

Frelinghuysen and other Republicans spoke of concerns over how the EPA under Pruitt would handle its duties with a smaller staff and less funding.

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