Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Haley Stevens (MI-11), all members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, urged Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to maintain staffing and resources at the Office of Research and Development (ORD), the arm of the EPA that supports the agency’s entire mission to protect human health and the environment. Their letter comes in response to an EPA memo that proposes eliminating ORD as a National Program Office and firing at least half of its staff.
Click here to watch Rep. Ross’ floor speech on this topic.
The lawmakers wrote, “Virtually since the creation of the EPA itself, ORD has served as the cornerstone of science-based decision-making at the agency, which is required to use the best available science to protect human health and the environment... (eliminating ORD) would be illegal. It would be a catastrophe for public health, environmental protection, and the civil servants working in ORD offices across the country. You must abandon this plan immediately so that the dedicated scientists at ORD can continue their work to keep Americans safe.”
They also cited the specific work that ORD does to protect the health of every American: “In recent years, ORD’s scientists have worked to understand the most dangerous environmental hazards threatening the American public, from PFAS in drinking water to the air pollution caused by wildfire smoke to the risks of aging wastewater infrastructure. ORD performs cutting-edge environmental research in its own laboratories while funding groundbreaking research around the country. ORD also provides indispensable technical assistance to state governments as they work to strengthen their own environmental science capabilities and uphold state and local environmental protections. It is no exaggeration to say that ORD is a crown jewel of the agency. Without it, EPA simply cannot do its job. Eliminating ORD willfully blinds the EPA to present environmental dangers and future environmental risks, and every American would be less safe because of it.”
The members concluded emphasizing the direct impact this action would have on communities across the country: “The elimination of ORD would have immediate adverse consequences on the hard-working civil servants conducting and supporting EPA science in offices across the country… These labs drive scientific innovation to the regions in which they are located… While the environmental impacts of these cuts will happen months and years down the road, the brain drain will hit these regions immediately. It is imperative that future reorganization and reduction in force plans change course and preserve the crucial work of ORD.”
As the Representative of part of the Research Triangle, which houses the largest EPA facility in the country, Congresswoman Ross represents many of the employees that would be directly affected by this plan. Just this week, Rep. Ross took to the House floor to speak out in defense of the employees in her district who are at risk of being fired.
Full text of the letter is available here.