EPA
Federal Employees Continue to Speak Up
Last month, employees from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA were the latest to publicly express concern about the Trump Administration’s actions at their respective agencies. In a July 21 letter to House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), NSF employees under the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 outlined eight “categories of harm” being inflicted by the Trump Administration, including staff and grant terminations, massive budget cuts, and the unannounced move from the NSF headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The letter asks the Science Committee to: (1) shield NSF employees from “politically motivated” firings; (2) end the illegal impoundment of appropriated…
EPA Employees Stand Up to Leadership
Following up on the Bethesda Declaration signed by employees from the National Institutes of Health in June, more than 600 employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have signed a Declaration of Dissent addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. In it, employees raise five primary concerns about actions taken by EPA leadership or the Trump Administration, including: (1) undermining public trust, (2) ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters, (3) reversing EPA’s progress in America’s most vulnerable communities, (4) dismantling the Office of Research and Development, and (5) promoting a culture of fear, forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being. Additional details are…
House Oversight Probes Biden-Harris Administration’s Scientific Integrity Committees
On November 14, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced an investigation into the Biden-Harris Administration’s scientific integrity committees, including for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Comer cited concerns of interference of the “executive agency of future presidential administrations” through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Presidential Memorandum directing the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a Task Force on Scientific Integrity and federal agencies to produce scientific integrity reports (see previous COSSA coverage here). In letters sent to the EPA and HHS, Comer requested information on the…
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Draft Scientific Integrity Policy
On January 24, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a 30-day public comment period on the draft updates to its Scientific Integrity (SI) Policy. This policy is in response to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) memorandum requiring federal agencies to develop scientific integrity policies to restore trust in science (see previous COSSA coverage). The updated SI Policy will adopt a new Federal definition of scientific integrity and meaningfully strengthen several policy elements that will help ensure a culture of scientific integrity at the Agency. It will incorporate the model scientific integrity policy from the National Science and Technology Council’s A…
EPA Creates New Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Office
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Office to address environmental justice, enforce civil rights law, and deliver new grants and support. This office was created by merging three already existing programs within EPA: the Office of Environmental Justice, External Civil Rights Compliance Office, and Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center. EPA is dedicated to advancing justice and equity, particularly through aiding underserved communities with community-driven solutions.