EPN: Incoming Congress Must Hold EPA Leadership Accountable and Put Public Health First

Former EPA experts urge congressional oversight, restoration of scientific integrity, and withdrawal of pending pollution rollbacks that threaten families’ health and finances.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) calls on the incoming Congress to hold the Trump administration accountable for decisions that have weakened pollution protections and undermined the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect public health.

“Voters made clear they’re deeply unhappy with the direction the Trump administration and Congress have been taking the country,” said Marc Boom, EPN’s Senior Director of Public Affairs. “At EPA, we’ve seen that play out in decisions that put the interests of polluters ahead of the health of families and communities. When EPA weakens pollution protections, the costs don’t disappear. They’re shifted onto families in the form of higher medical bills, more illness, and lives cut short.”

Over the past two years, former EPA scientists, enforcement officials, and policy experts who volunteer with EPN have documented a broad pattern of weakened safeguards against harmful pollution, exemptions for industrial facilities, the undermining of independent science and scientific expertise, the removal of critical public health information, termination and politicization of federal funding for states, Tribes and communities, and the loss of thousands of experienced EPA employees. These decisions expose people to greater risks of asthma, cancer, and other serious health problems, while leaving families and communities to bear more of the human and economic costs of pollution.

EPN calls on the incoming Congress to make public health a central focus of its oversight by:

Investigating EPA decisions that favor polluters over public health, including regulatory rollbacks, industry exemptions, weakened pollution safeguards amid the rapid expansion of AI data centers and their energy infrastructure, and the sidelining of scientific findings and career expertise.
Restoring scientific integrity and transparency, including public access to information about pollution-related cancer risks and other health threats.
Rebuilding EPA’s capacity and strengthening enforcement, ensuring the agency has the scientists, inspectors, funding, and direction needed to fulfill its legal responsibilities.

EPN also calls on EPA leadership to heed the public’s demand for stronger health protections and change course now, rather than waiting for congressional oversight. The agency should withdraw pending proposals to weaken pollution standards and abandon efforts to give polluters more leeway at the expense of public health.

“Americans understand that when corporations aren’t held accountable for their pollution, ordinary families end up paying the price,” Boom continued. “Our polling shows that 81% of registered voters surveyed believe the costs of pollution are being shifted onto families. The incoming Congress has an opportunity and a responsibility to hold EPA and the rest of the federal government accountable and make sure they’re doing their jobs to protect public health and leave families safer, not sicker.”

“Protecting families from pollution should never be a partisan issue,” Boom added. “The question for Congress is whether EPA is following the science, enforcing the law, and fulfilling its mission. That’s the standard every member of Congress should insist on, regardless of party.”

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About the Environmental Protection Network
The Environmental Protection Network is a nonpartisan organization comprising more than 800 former EPA scientists, toxicologists, chemists, biologists, engineers, and policy analysts, many of whom spent decades as career experts inside the agency. They assessed cancer and developmental risks, studied links between pollution and fertility and chronic disease, investigated contaminated communities, and brought enforcement actions to hold corporate polluters accountable. EPN was founded in 2017 to serve as an independent voice promoting science-based policies that protect families’ health.