Agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue on Thursday vowed to defend efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay, even though the White House has proposed eliminating funding for its cleanup.

If confirmed, the former Georgia governor would not have power over the Environmental Protection Agencys $73 million initiative targeting runoff from farming fertilizer, the chief source of the nitrogen and phosphorus contaminating the Chesapeake Bay. But he said his Department of Agriculture would continue to work with farmers to reduce pollution.

I dont believe we can continue the progress thats been made, he said, referring to the the across-the-board cuts proposed in President Donald Trump s skinny budget. I certainly hope we can even increase and continue the progress.

Perdue offered scant details as to how he would secure gains made through decades of federally funded work. Trump has suggested slashing the USDAs budget to $17.9 billion, a 21 percent reduction that halts funding for rural clean water projects and agrarian business services. The proposed cut also targets the USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service, which provides assistance to farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, at a time when farm incomes are down 50 percent from four years ago.