Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin warning of the immediate and long-term effects that closing the EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) will have on communities and ecosystems across the nation, and urged for the immediate reversal of all such plans.
In the letter, the members assert the importance of the work being done at the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, writing, “The Office of Research and Development, as listed on your agency’s website, “conducts the research for EPA that provides the foundation for credible decision-making to safeguard human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.” For over 50 years, ORD has conducted critical research that saves lives—including studying the health impacts of wildfire smoke inhalation, development of detection methods and toxicity assessments for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), improvement of water treatment technologies to ensure our communities have access to water free of lead contamination, and so much more.”
The members noted, “Americans across the political spectrum care about clean air, clean water, and the health of their children and loved ones. Americans care about their environment, whether it’s their back yard or their favorite national park. ORD’s work is not partisan. On July 24th, in a 26-2 bipartisan vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that would require EPA to maintain ORD.”
In closing the letter, the Members urged an immediate reversal of plans to close ORD “Again, we strongly urge you to reverse your decision to eliminate ORD. This disastrous decision is unwanted and unwarranted, and its consequences would be dire for our constituents and for communities across the country.”
The Research Triangle is home to the EPA’s Research Triangle Park campus, the largest in the country, where more than 2,000 full-time federal employees are at the forefront of the EPA’s critical work to ensure proper research and regulations are in place to deliver clean air, water, and land for all Americans. The EPA’s Research Triangle Park campus is home to seven different offices under the EPA, including the Office of Research and Development.
Earlier this year, Reps. Ross and Foushee released a joint statement as Ranking Members of House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees alongside House Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) denouncing the Trump administration’s plan to cut as many as 1,155 scientists from ORD.
On March 28th, the members led a letter sent to EPA demanding the immediate reversal of plans to cut the EPA's Office of Research and Development following reports that the Trump administration was considering firing 75 percent of the Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) staff.
On June 18th, the EPA announced a reduction in force targeting ORD, with The Hill reporting that “An EPA spokesperson told The Hill in an email the agency plans to ‘eliminate the Office of Research and Development (ORD).’”
On July 24th, in a 26-2 bipartisan vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that would require EPA to maintain ORD. The FY26 Interior Senate report notes, “EPA has a long and proud tradition of being one of the world’s leading environmental and human health research organizations. The Office of Research and Development [ORD] conducts cutting-edge research to better understand and mitigate harm to humans and the environment from contamination from natural and humanmade disasters, radiation exposure, wildfire smoke emissions, chemical releases, drinking water contamination, chemicals in everyday products, and other threats.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.