Latest news with #EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
Axios
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
NASA cuts endanger safety, employees warn in open letter to Trump admin
Nearly 300 current and former NASA employees rebuked the Trump administration's "dismantling cuts and devastating attacks" in an open letter shared Monday. The big picture: The federal budget for fiscal year 2026 cuts NASA's science spending by 47%, though billions in funding were included in President Trump's " big, beautiful bill" and could be restored. Driving the news: In a letter addressed to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was recently named interim NASA administrator, employees from every NASA center and mission directorate raised concerns over funding cuts and said they were being pressured to implement harmful measures. " The last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA's workforce," the letter said. Recent policies "have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission," they wrote. The letter, which is dedicated to astronauts who died in past spaceflight accidents, said that "the culture of organizational silence promoted at NASA over the last six months already represents a dangerous turn away from the lessons learned following the Columbia disaster." The 2003 incident saw Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrate as it re-entered the atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board. By the numbers: 131 people signed the letter publicly while another 156 did so anonymously. The anonymous signatories "choose not to be identified due to the culture of fear of retaliation cultivated by this administration," the letter said. Zoom out: Employees at the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency issued similar statements regarding the Trump administration's actions at their respective agencies. In response, the EPA placed 139 employees on leave after they signed a "declaration of dissent" accusing the agency of "unraveling" health and environmental protections for political reasons.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
EPA cuts its scientific research office, as layoffs set to take effect
The research and development office had been in the crosshairs of organizations allied with President Donald Trump. The Environmental Protection Agency eliminated its scientific research office in the Trump administration's latest cuts to the federal workforce. The change, announced July 18, affects the Office of Research and Development, which provided EPA with information to make decisions on standards for human health and the environment. EPA will now have a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, according to an agency news release. 'Under President Trump's leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback,' Lee Zeldin, the agency's administrator, said in a statement. 'This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.' Officials said the creation of the applied science and environmental solutions office would allow EPA to prioritize research and science while putting it 'at the forefront of rulemakings and technical assistance to states.' EPA said organizational changes are saving nearly $750 million. The agency had already been subject to cuts in the new administration. A July 8 Supreme Court ruling allowed the Trump administration to implement sweeping reductions by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. In January, EPA had 16,155 employees, but the agency said it will now have 12,448 workers. It's unclear how many staff are affected by the July 18 announcement, while some will be reassigned in the agency. In an email, an EPA spokesperson said the next step would be sending notices to individual employees. The office includes biologists, chemists, epidemiologists and toxicologists. Scientists deal with emerging pollutants, including researching environmental emergencies such as floods, train derailments and wildfires, according to Nicole Cantello, legislative and political director for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents EPA workers. "EPA is hellbent on destroying the foremost environmental research organization in the world," Cantello said. "That will only result in dirty air, dirty water and more health risks for the American people." Justin Chen, the union president, said the research and development office also sets regulatory guidelines for measuring pollutant levels. The restructuring places scientific research closer to the administrator, a political appointee, who "you can very well see turning a blind eye on things that may be inconvenient to friends of the administration," Chen said. In March, Democrats on the House science committee said there were about 1,540 employees across the country in EPA's reorganization plan of the Office of Research and Development. Lawmakers warned the plans would eliminate the EPA research and development office staffing by about 50-75%. The New York Times first reported on the plans. 'The obliteration of (the Office of Research and Development) will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety,' Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, the committee's ranking chair, said in a July 18 statement. 'This is a travesty.' The research and development office had been in the crosshairs of organizations allied with Trump, as the Times reported. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, specifically cited the EPA science office in Project 2025, the blueprint for Trump to reconfigure and downsize the federal government. Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@ or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
US Environmental Protection Agency to scrap its scientific research arm
The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, after denying for months that it intended to do so. The move underscores how the Trump administration is forging ahead with efforts to slash the federal work force and dismantle federal agencies after the Supreme Court allowed these plans to proceed while legal challenges unfold. Government scientists have been particular targets of the administration's large-scale layoffs. The decision to dismantle the E.P.A.'s Office of Research and Development had been widely expected since March, when a leaked document that called for eliminating the office was first reported by The New York Times. But until Friday, the Trump administration maintained that no final decisions had been made. The E.P.A.'s science office provides the independent research that underpins nearly all of the agency's policies and regulations. It has analyzed the risks of hazardous chemicals, the impact of wildfire smoke on public health and the contamination of drinking water by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Its research has often justified stricter environmental rules, prompting pushback from chemical manufacturers and other industries. Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, has boasted about cutting dozens of environmental regulations, saying he wants to make it cheaper and easier for industries to operate. When President Trump took office, the science office had roughly 1,155 employees. But more than 325 workers have left since January after accepting 'deferred resignation' offers, according to an E.P.A. spokeswoman, Molly Vaseliou. It was not immediately clear how many of the roughly 830 remaining employees would be fired. Ms. Vaseliou said in an email that the agency had not yet initiated the large-scale layoff, known as a 'reduction in force.' The American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, a union that represents more than 8,000 E.P.A. workers, slammed Friday's announcement. The science office 'is the heart and brain of the E.P.A.,' said Justin Chen, president of A.F.G.E. Council 238. 'Without it, we don't have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment. Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.' In a wave of departures in recent weeks, the directors of national research programs under the Office of Research and Development all left the E.P.A. They include career employees who oversaw work on measuring contaminants in the atmosphere, responses to environmental emergencies and exposure to chemicals and particulate matter. Others who left include the deputies of those programs, as well as dozens of senior scientists, according to multiple agency officials. 'It is dismantling a world-class organisation, and the American people are not going to be well served by this,' said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, who worked at the E.P.A. for 40 years and led the research office under the first Trump administration. 'These actions are very shortsighted, and the way they're going about it is very callous and very cruel.' When Trump took office, the E.P.A. had 16,155 employees. But more than 3,700 employees have left the agency or are set to leave through firings, retirements, resignations and other moves, eventually bringing the agency's work force to 12,448, a level last seen during the Reagan administration. The Trump administration previously announced that it would move some of the science functions into a new department in the E.P.A. administrator's office. Dr Orme-Zavaleta and others said that move threatened to politicize scientific research. Chris Jahn, president of the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group for the chemical industry, said in a statement that the organisation 'supports E.P.A. evaluating its resources to ensure American taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively.' The Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organization, had criticised the E.P.A.'s science office in Project 2025, a blueprint for overhauling the federal government. The group had accused the office of being 'bloated, unaccountable, closed, outcome-driven, hostile to public and legislative input, and inclined to pursue political rather than purely scientific goals.' The Competitive Enterprise Institute, another conservative research organisation, has called for eliminating or overhauling the office's program for evaluating toxic chemicals, known as the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS. 'IRIS evaluations often rely on worst-case hazard assumptions that fail to consider real-world exposure scenarios,' James Broughel, a former senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, wrote in a recent blog post. Broughel is now associated with the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank closely aligned with the Trump administration. The E.P.A. said in a news release on Friday that it had already saved $748.8 million through 'organizational improvements' and staff reductions. Zeldin said in the news release that agency officials were committed to 'being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.' The E.P.A. plans to hold a 'town hall' for staff members in the science office on Monday afternoon, according to a Friday evening email from Maureen Gwinn, the acting head of the office, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times. 'I understand that this announcement may bring uncertainty and concern,' Dr. Gwinn wrote. 'While I don't have all the details yet, I am actively working to gather more information.' She concluded the email with a reminder: 'Please remember to take care of yourselves.'
CNBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNBC
EPA eliminates research and development office, begins layoffs
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Friday that it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees. The agency's Office of Research and Development has long provided the scientific underpinnings for EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health. The EPA said in May that it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on significant issues, such as air and water. The agency said Friday it is creating a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science "more than ever before." Once fully implemented, the changes are expected to save the EPA nearly $750 million, officials said. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement that the changes announced Friday would ensure the agency "is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while Powering the Great American Comeback.'' The EPA also announced that it is beginning the process to eliminate thousands of jobs, following a Supreme Court ruling last week that cleared the way for President Donald Trump's plans to downsize the federal workforce, despite warnings that critical government services will be compromised. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. Total staffing at EPA will decrease to 12,448, a reduction of more than 3,700 employees, or nearly 23%, from the staffing levels in January when Trump took office, the agency stated. "This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars," Zeldin said, using a government term for mass firings. Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee, called the elimination of the research office "a travesty.'' "The Trump administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people,'' she said. "The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety." The Office of Research and Development "is the heart and brain of the EPA,'' said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents thousands of EPA employees. "Without it, we don't have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment,'' Chen said. "Its destruction will devastate public health in our country." The research office — EPA's main science arm — currently has 1,540 positions, excluding special government employees and public health officers, according to agency documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House science panel earlier this year. As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists could be laid off, the documents indicated. The research office has 10 facilities across the country, stretching from Florida and North Carolina to Oregon. An EPA spokeswoman said Friday that all laboratory functions currently conducted by the research office will continue. In addition to the reduction in force, or RIF, the agency also is offering the third round of deferred resignations for eligible employees, including research office staff, spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said. The application period is open until July 25. The EPA's announcement comes two weeks after the agency placed 139 employees who signed a "declaration of dissent" with agency policies on administrative leave under the Trump administration. The agency accused the employees of "unlawfully undermining" Trump's agenda. In a letter made public June 30, the employees wrote that the EPA is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face retaliation for speaking out.
3 days ago
- Politics
EPA eliminates research and development office, begins layoffs
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees. The agency's Office of Research and Development has long provided the scientific underpinnings for EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health. The EPA said in May it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on major issues like air and water. The agency said Friday it is creating a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science 'more than ever before." Once fully implemented, the changes will save the EPA nearly $750 million, officials said. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement that the changes announced Friday would ensure the agency 'is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while Powering the Great American Comeback.'' The EPA also said it is beginning the process to eliminate thousands of jobs, following a Supreme Court ruling last week that cleared the way for President Donald Trump's plans to downsize the federal workforce, despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. Total staffing at EPA will go down to 12,448, a reduction of more than 3,700 employees, or nearly 23%, from staffing levels in January when Trump took office, the agency said. "This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars,' Zeldin said, using a government term for mass firings.' Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee, called the elimination of the research office 'a travesty.'' 'The Trump administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people,'' she said. 'The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety." The Office of Research and Development "is the heart and brain of the EPA,'' said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents thousands of EPA employees. 'Without it, we don't have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment,'' Chen said. 'Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.' The research office — EPA's main science arm — currently has 1,540 positions, excluding special government employees and public health officers, according to agency documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House science panel earlier this year. As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists could be laid off, the documents indicated. The research office has 10 facilities across the country, stretching from Florida and North Carolina to Oregon. An EPA spokeswoman said Friday that all laboratory functions currently conducted by the research office will continue. In addition to the reduction in force, or RIF, the agency also is offering the third round of deferred resignations for eligible employees, including research office staff, spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said. The application period is open until July 25. The EPA's announcement comes two weeks after the agency put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a 'declaration of dissent' with agency policies under the Trump administration. The agency accused the employees of 'unlawfully undermining' Trump's agenda. In a letter made public June 30, the employees wrote that the EPA is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face retaliation for speaking out.
