Tag: U.S. EPA

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson Testimony Before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson Testimony Before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works

Release Date: 03/22/2012
Contact Information: EPA Press Office press@epa.gov 202-564-6794

WASHINGTON –
As prepared for delivery.

Thank you for inviting me to testify on the President’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. I’m joined by the agency’s Chief Financial Officer, Barbara Bennett.

EPA’s budget request of $8.344 billion focuses on fulfilling EPA’s core mission of protecting public health and the environment, while making the sacrifices and tough decisions that Americans across the country are making every day.

EPA’s budget request fully reflects the President’s commitment to reducing government spending and finding cost savings in a responsible manner while supporting clean air, clean water and the innovative safe guards that are essential to an America that’s built to last. In some cases we have had to take a step back from programs – this budget reflects a savings of $50 million through the elimination of several EPA programs and activities that have either met their goals, or can be achieved at the state or local level or by other federal agencies. Continue reading “EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson Testimony Before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works”

EPA Management Thwarting Organizing Effort At Georgia Laboratory, Says AFGE

 EPA management fires a world-renowned EPA scientist and suspends another

ATLANTA, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Federation of Government Employees’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Labor Council #238 today expressed its utter disbelief that in the midst of a union election, EPA management has fired a world-renowned EPA scientist and suspended another at the Ecosystems Research Division of EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory in Athens, Ga.

Scientists at EPA’s Athens laboratory contacted AFGE, seeking union representation. “The two scientists who were blatantly reprised against were activists in seeking the union election. We stand by them in their hour of need,” said AFGE EPA Council 238 President Charles Orzehoskie. Continue reading “EPA Management Thwarting Organizing Effort At Georgia Laboratory, Says AFGE”

EPA Union Questions Administration’s Support For Federal Sector Unions

 AFGE EPA Council negotiating since May 2010 and agency has yet to agree to ground rules

CHICAGO, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Federation of Government Employees’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Labor Council 238 today announced its dismay over the failure of EPA to bargain in good faith. “In the midst of a pay freeze invoked by this administration, and with federal employees and labor under attack in Congress, we have concerns about this administration’s stance on federal employee unions,” said AFGE EPA Council 238 President Charles Orzehoskie.

On December 9, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13522 – Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of Government Services. In that directive, the President stated, among other things, that “Federal employees and their union representatives are an essential source of front-line ideas and information about the realities of delivering government services to the American people … Management should discuss workplace challenges and problems with labor and endeavor to develop solutions jointly.” Continue reading “EPA Union Questions Administration’s Support For Federal Sector Unions”

Santa Claus and Soot Pollution

Santa  Claus and Soot Pollution

When we were younger, some of us couldn’t wait until Christmas, when Santa would come down the chimney with gifts for the good boys and girls. But when our parents told us about Santa going up and down chimneys, nobody mentioned the possibility of him breathing in soot. If Santa were real, inhaling that much soot would be a serious health hazard.

None of us climb up and down as many chimneys as Santa, but we still have to worry about fine particle pollution, also known as soot. Soot is all around us, released by a multitude of sources including power plants, cars, and a variety of industrial processes.

The severe health consequences of soot pollution are well-documented—exposure to soot can cause low birth weight, asthma attacks, and may even contribute to infant mortality. There is no question that soot pollution shortens lives.

We all need to do what we can to make sure our children and grandchildren don’t grow up breathing in dangerous soot pollution.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to tell the EPA you demand stronger safeguards against soot pollution.

Please raise your voice for your children, grandchildren, and future children and grandchildren.

Sincerely,

Dominique Browning
Co-Founder and Senior Director, Moms Clean Air Force

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