FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2025
CONTACT:
Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate
(509) 429-1699 and epn-press@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
Former EPA Leaders Sound Bipartisan Alarm on Proposed 65% Cut to EPA Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations, including six former Deputy EPA Administrators appointed by five presidents, are urgently calling on Congress to stop deep cuts to EPA’s budget. The letter from 51 congressionally confirmed EPA appointees and EPA Regional Administrators was led by Linda J. Fisher, a former EPA Deputy Administrator under President George W. Bush, and Bob Perciasepe, a former EPA Deputy Administrator under President Barack Obama.
The letter is being sent on the heels of a news report that EPA plans to close its science offices.
“Deep cuts to EPA threaten more than 50 years of bipartisan progress under Republican and Democratic Congresses and presidents,” wrote the former officials. “Actions that diminish EPA’s capabilities will place at risk the quality of the air our children breathe, the water we all drink, and the waterways we swim, fish and play in.”
“If the administration does not agree with the laws Congress has passed and the programs it has funded, it should work with Congress to seek changes, not unilaterally and recklessly freeze, delay, or eliminate funding,” they wrote.
“Policy changes are a normal part of transitions from one administration to the next, but there is nothing normal about what has been happening at EPA,” adds Linda Fisher. “There’s a world of difference between wanting EPA to do its job more efficiently or delegating more to the states, and not allowing the agency to do its job at all.”
“The Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and America’s other bedrock environmental laws protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” adds Bob Perciasepe. “The Administration can not unilaterally decide to ignore them without Congressional action to change them. With the laws still in place the Administration’s actions are not only going to threaten public health but also create a patchwork quilt of litigation across the country creating uncertainty for American businesses and cities.”
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Founded in 2017, the Environmental Protection Network harnesses the expertise of more than 600 former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former scientists and regulators with decades of historical and subject matter knowledge.