LETTER TO EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN

Dear Administrator Whitman:

This letter is to let you know the views of many of the people who work for you regarding funding for EPA.

As you are aware, Congressional allocations for EPA spending since 1980 have dropped 50% as a share of the federal budget, according to official Office of Management and Budget statistics Meanwhile, over the same time period, EPA’s scope of responsibility has increased dramatically Recently, for example, we have taken on a new and vital role, that of detecting and dealing with bioterrorism.

We want to assure you that our union stands ready to work with you in any way to reduce waste or unwise expenditures. We would remind you that one of the best ways to reduce waste is to listen to and protect the rights of your whistleblowing employees who report errors (or worse) by EPA managers.

We want you to know that we are adamantly opposed to any significant cuts in our budget. We are also strongly opposed to any efforts to balkanize our enforcement effort by shifting it to the States.

Summing up, our Agency's spending today is way below where we think it should be. Any further cuts would be a threat to the health of the American people. Looking into the future, we should be increasing, not decreasing, the resources our nation commits to the protection of environmental health and safety.

Our union appreciates your efforts to reach out to us, and we want to assure you that we wish to work with you in a positive and constructive manner to make EPA the best possible defender of our nation's environment.

On behalf of the Executive Board,

James J. Murphy, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
President