Members Urge Investigation of EPA Library Closures
Prominent House Committee Ranking Members Reps. Bart Gordon (D-TN), John Dingell (D-MI) and Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate efforts underway at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to close EPA’s libraries and reduce access to environmental information.
In their letter to the GAO, the Ranking Members of the House Committee on Science, Energy & Commerce and Government Reform stated: "We have grave concerns about the effects of this plan on EPA’s ability to protect the environment, and we question whether the plan will actually save the government money."
The Administration’s 2007 Federal budget cut $2 million dollars from the EPA library system or one-third of the program’s total budget. Although the cuts are not due to be enacted until next year, recent actions have made clear that the plan is already being implemented. The Region 5 library is closed and at least two other Regional libraries will close by October 1.
EPA claims these closures will not result in degradation of the delivery of library services to Agency employees and no loss of public access to documents, yet it is unclear how the documents in the closed libraries will remain accessible. EPA professional staff claims these actions will harm the Agency’s ability to carry out its mission and will impede EPA’s enforcement of environmental laws.
Download the Ranking Members’ letter »
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