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A service for political professionals · Thursday, July 31, 2025 · 835,832,616 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

Senate supports EPA in bipartisan rebuke as employees on leave await decision

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EPA employees on leave will learn whether they will return to work or remain on administrative leave following their dissent.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In a show of bipartisan consensus, a new Senate appropriations bill seeks to protect fiscal year 2026 funding for the EPA, reversing the budget cuts proposed by House Republicans and the White House. The bill rejects the closure of the EPA Office of Research and Development (a primary concern raised in the Declaration of Dissent); calls for targeted increases to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Resolving Funds; and for the safeguarding of key State grants programs, most of which were eliminated in the House's proposed appropriations.

Stand Up For Science applauds the Senate bill and its proponents for recognizing the vital role of the EPA in protecting the health and the environment now and for generations to come. Still, 139 employees of the EPA will learn on August 1 whether EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will end their administrative leave status. Following the Declaration, Administrator Zeldin placed all 139 staff on administrative leave and under internal investigation. An additional 481 EPA employees have signed the Declaration anonymously to protect themselves from retaliation.

The EPA Declaration of Dissent decries policies that undermine public trust and sideline scientific evidence, compromising the agency's mission "to protect human health and the environment." The Declaration, hosted by Stand Up For Science, has received over 10,000 signatures of support from the public. Stand Up For Science condemns the decision to place these employees on extended administrative leave and calls for their immediate reinstatement to regular duty. In taking a stance, these EPA civil servants fulfilled their duty as public servants and as scientists.

Stand Up for Science Executive Director Colette Delawalla is available to discuss the organization's advocacy actions to save science and call on legislators to act.

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About Stand Up for Science: Stand Up for Science is a grassroots Washington, D.C. based 501(c)4 non-profit organization mobilizing the fight for science and democracy. We formed Stand Up for Science within days of executive orders breaking down federal science agencies. Weeks later, on March 7th, our first National Day of Action, we mobilized over 50,000 people at 170+ events across the world in support of science. Stand Up for Science has captured widespread national and international media attention, and federal scientists across multiple agencies (i.e., NIH, EPA and NASA) have chosen Stand Up for Science as the platform for their dissent against this administration. An opinion piece written by our founding leadership team is also available in Nature Human Behavior: “Why we organized ‘Stand Up for Science.’”

Brian Lovett
Stand Up for Science
media@standupforscience.net

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