Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is pushing President Trump to rehire Georgians responsible for air and water quality.
Sen. Ossoff joined members of the Georgia delegation and other Southeastern members of Congress urging the Trump Administration to reinstate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 employees who play a critical role in public and environmental health. EPA Region 4 is based in Atlanta, with divisions in Athens as well as Gulfport, Mississippi.
“Reports indicate that EPA staff members have received emails indicating immediate dismissal due to their probationary status,” Sen. Ossoff and the group wrote to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We are deeply concerned about the negative impacts such terminations—done across the board without consideration for positional need or programmatic impact—would have on the agency’s ability to protect public health and the environment in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee and across the nation.”
Last year, in response to the Conyers BioLab fire, EPA Region 4 staff monitored air quality to help keep local families safe.
“The dismissal of employees at the EPA Region 4 offices threatens the health and safety of all states in Region 4 and will undermine ongoing efforts to monitor and improve air and water quality, manage hazardous waste, and restore the ecosystem of the largest freshwater system in the world,” Sen. Ossoff and the group continued. “We urge you to consider the critical importance of these workers to the EPA’s mission and the potential adverse effects these terminations have on public health and the environment in our Nation.”
Sen. Ossoff continues working to protect Georgia families from the harms of indiscriminate firings and funding cuts at Federal agencies.
Last week, Sen. Ossoff urged Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to unfreeze Federal funding for the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program, which provides Federal funding to help urban areas strengthen public safety.
Last week, Sen. Ossoff slammed the Trump Administration’s cancelation of a Federal program that helps Georgia farmers sell fresh food to local schools.
Earlier this month, Sen. Ossoff, Ranking Member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, slammed the Trump Administration’s reported plans to fire over 80,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s letter to the Trump Administration.
# # #
