Latest news with #MollyVaseliou
E&E News
08-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Over 1,800 flock to EPA's downsizing offer
More than 1,800 EPA employees have so far signed up to leave the agency through two 'early out' programs, with more applications certain to come before a Friday deadline. As of Thursday morning, 1,817 eligible staffers had applied for either the deferred resignation or the voluntary early retirement options offered late last month, spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in an email. That total amounts to more than 10 percent of the agency's workforce. Their departures will come on top of about another 545 employees who took advantage of the first round of the deferred resignation program unveiled earlier this year. Advertisement Staffers who choose that route will go on administrative leave until the end of September. EPA is encouraging them to decamp as part of a broader governmentwide downsizing campaign driven by the White House.
The Verge
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Trump cuts Energy Star program that saved households $450 a year
The Trump administration is moving to shut down the Energy Star program, which saves homeowners an average of $450 a year. 'If you wanted to raise families' energy bills, getting rid of the Energy Star label would be a pretty good way,' says Steven Nadel of the American Council for Energy Efficiency. The program, which started in 1992, provides basic information about how much energy an appliance uses. Without it, your next large appliance purchase could end up costing you more money than you bargained for. Buying Energy Star-rated products can also qualify you for rebates on appliances as well as tax credits of up to $3,200 annually. Sources in the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees Energy Star, say that Trump administration officials told them the program will be shuttered, according to reports from CNN and The Washington Post. Molly Vaseliou, EPA Associate Administrator for Public Affairs, confirmed to The Verge via email that the agency is going through the 'next phase of organizational improvements' to 'better provide clean air, water, and land for all Americans.' Vaseliou shared a PDF showing a future organizational chart with the Office of Transportation & Air Quality and the Office of Radiation & Indoor Air Quality eliminated. Vaseliou did not respond to questions about Energy Star specifically, but the program falls under these departments. Energy Star is a private-public partnership set up by the first Bush administration in 1992 to help consumers and businesses save money by reducing their energy use, while conserving natural resources. Over that time, it's saved more than $500 billion in energy costs. 'For just $32 million a year, Energy Star helps American families save over $40 billion in annual energy costs,' Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy, told CNN. 'That's a return of $350 for every federal dollar invested.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EPA starts layoffs of environmental justice employees
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its staffing shakeup on Monday, beginning the termination of hundreds of staffers through a "reduction in force" process as it moved other workers to new roles. Last month, the agency announced a massive rollback of environmental regulations, including key tenets of the Clean Air Act, and agency administrator Lee Zeldin promised to drive 'a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion." In February the EPA put some environmental justice staffers on administrative leave and terminated some probationary workers. It also ended remote work and telework for mosts of its employees. The agency's latest actions will start the termination process for some 280 workers who were involved with environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Another 175 EPA employees were reassigned to new roles. 'Today, EPA notified diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice employees that EPA will be conducting a Reduction in Force in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Workforce Reshaping Handbook and federal regulations governing RIF procedures,' EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said in an email. 'The agency also notified certain statutory and mission essential employees that they are being reassigned to other offices.' NBC News acquired a copy of a memorandum sent to an employee who received notice of the reduction in force. The memorandum says EPA's reduction in force will take effect on July 31, 2025. "President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people. Part of this mandate includes the issuance of an Executive Order that directs the critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy to empower American families, workers, taxpayers and our system of government itself," the memorandum says. "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time." This article was originally published on
NBC News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
EPA starts layoffs of environmental justice employees
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its staffing shakeup on Monday, beginning the termination of hundreds of staffers through a "reduction in force" process as it moved other workers to new roles. Last month, the agency announced a massive rollback of environmental regulation s, including key tenets of the Clean Air Act, and agency administrator Lee Zeldin promised to drive 'a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion." In February the EPA put some environmental justice staffers on administrative leave and terminated some probationary workers. It also ended remote work and telework for mosts of its employees. The agency's latest actions will start the termination process for some 280 workers who were involved with environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Another 175 EPA employees were reassigned to new roles. 'Today, EPA notified diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice employees that EPA will be conducting a Reduction in Force in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Workforce Reshaping Handbook and federal regulations governing RIF procedures,' EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said in an email. 'The agency also notified certain statutory and mission essential employees that they are being reassigned to other offices.' NBC News acquired a copy of a memorandum sent to an employee who received notice of the reduction in force. The memorandum says EPA's reduction in force will take effect on July 31, 2025. "President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people. Part of this mandate includes the issuance of an Executive Order that directs the critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy to empower American families, workers, taxpayers and our system of government itself," the memorandum says. "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time."
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kudos to the FDA and EPA for planning to phase out animal testing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it plans to phase out animal testing in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies and other drugs with human-relevant methods. (Photo by) As a board-certified family and lifestyle medicine physician in Salt Lake City, I laud both the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency for separately announcing initiatives last week to start backing off of animal testing. In a news release on April 10, the FDA said it plans to phase out animal testing in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies and other drugs with more effective, human-relevant methods. 'The new approach,' the agency said, 'is designed to improve drug safety and accelerate the evaluation process, while reducing animal experimentation, lowering research and development (R&D) costs, and ultimately, drug prices.' Separately, EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou told the Washington Examiner in a statement on Thursday the EPA 'is wholly committed to getting the agency back on track to eliminating animal testing.' As a former NASA engineer turned physician, I have the highest regard for evidence-backed decision making. The move by these two federal agencies to minimize animal testing in favor of human-focused models makes perfect scientific sense and ultimately will benefit patients by getting new pharmaceuticals and therapies to the market sooner and in a more cost-effective manner. Animal testing is outdated. It is tedious, expensive and oftentimes produces data that doesn't translate to human health. Experimental methods that don't use animals, like tissue chips and computational models, lead to the development of safer and more effective therapies and pharmaceuticals. In addition to benefits to human health, human-centric research approaches save animal lives and prevent their suffering. My perspective is not unique. A recent survey shows the vast majority of Americans are in favor of phasing out animal experiments. A September 2024 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine/Morning Consult poll of more than 2,000 asked for agreement levels to the statement 'The US government should commit to a plan to phase out experiments on animals.' Eighty percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed. This represents a shift from a 2018 Pew Research Center study that found that 47% of Americans were in favor of using animals in scientific research labs and 52% opposed it. In my lifestyle medicine practice, I work with patients to prevent and reverse chronic disease through diet, movement, and stress management. Often, my patients are able to come off of medications. But when pharmaceuticals are needed, I want to ensure they're safe, effective, and fairly priced. To those points, the federal government's recent moves to begin phasing out animal testing is a big step in the right direction.
