Science Committee Leaders Demand Answers on Trump Administration’s Illegal Scheme to Shutter EPA ORD Labs
(Washington, DC) – Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding answers on EPA’s plan to shut down its research laboratories. In March, Science Committee Democratic staff reviewed an excerpt of EPA’s Agency Reduction in Force (RIF) and Reorganization Plan (ARRP). The excerpt revealed that EPA intends to shut down its Office of Research and Development (ORD). EPA ORD manages research laboratories all across the country that conduct environmental research to inform the agency's decisions on harmful chemicals and toxins in the air, soil, and water. But recent reporting indicates that EPA intends to shutter these labs imminently.
In their letter, the Members detail the actions the Trump administration has taken to set the stage for the closure of the ORD labs:
“A few hundred postings were added to its internal job board, and political leadership encouraged the 1,500 current ORD employees to apply. Funding for ORD operations has been cut off, with one ORD research lab director informing his employees that ‘ORD is shutting down their laboratory activities.’ The agency has announced the creation of a new ‘Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions’ (OASES) within the Office of the Administrator, with no explanation for why this office would not be redundant to the existing ORD. The subtext for ORD and its workforce is clear as day: your office will soon be eliminated, and your jobs will soon be gone; apply to these new jobs, or you’ll likely be fired; if you don’t want these new jobs, take early retirement or deferred resignation, or you’ll likely be fired.”
The Members continue, pinpointing the illegality of this plan:
“The viciousness and cruelty of this scheme is almost as breathtaking as its illegality … Congress wanted these labs; Congress ordered EPA to ‘establish, equip, and maintain’ these labs; Congress told EPA where to put these labs; and Congress described the kinds of activities that should be done in these labs. This is the law. It is not voluntary, it has nothing to do with any ‘presidential priority,’ and it cannot be disposed of for the sake of so-called ‘efficiency.’ ORD, as the independent scientific research arm of EPA, manages the 10 field laboratory and research facilities across the United States in accordance with this statute. The preservation of these facilities is required by law. It is truly as simple as that.”
The Members close the letter with their demand that EPA Administrator Zeldin own up to the Trump administration’s scheme to close EPA ORD labs:
“It seems clear that you do not want to own up to your plan to shutter ORD because you fear a public backlash and prefer to delay accountability for this disastrous decision as long as possible. Your spokespeople lie to the media, Mr. Voyles lies to Committee staff, and all the while, behind closed doors, you work to effectuate the scheme that was laid out in the ARRP you transmitted to OMB. It is time to tell the truth.”
Read the letter here.
Resources on Science Committee Democrats’ ongoing investigation regarding the closure of EPA ORD labs can be found below:
March 17, 2025
New York Times: Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate EPA’s Scientific Research Arm
March 27, 2025
Committee Members Demand EPA Administrator Stop Plans to Close Office of Research and Development
May 2, 2025
Ranking Member Lofgren Reacts to Trump Administration Plan to Gut EPA ORD
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