Congressional Chairmen request briefing from EPA on recent activities

Contact: Andy Bridges
Communications Specialist
202-628-8410
For Immediate Release
April 26, 2007

Congressional Chairmen request briefing from EPA on recent activities

WASHINGTON — Four Committee Chairmen in the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson requesting an update on the Agency's recent activities with regard to its libraries.

With a deadline of May 4, 2007, the inquiry concerns recent reports about the continued disposal/ dispersal of library materials, even after recent testimony from Administrator Johnson that a moratorium on such activities had been put into place.

The four Members of Congress who signed the letter are:

  • Rep. Bart Gordon, Chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology;
  • Rep. John Dingell, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce;
  • Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; and
  • Rep. James Oberstar, Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

“I urge Administrator Johnson to refrain from disposing of any EPA library materials,” said Rep. Dingell. “It would be a great disappointment if valuable scientific and regulatory documents were lost.”

“Ever since this issue was brought to our attention last year, ALA has been working with both Congress and the EPA in order to stem the tide of information loss from the EPA libraries,” said American Library Association President-Elect Loriene Roy. “This letter is another important step toward making things right for the troubled EPA library system.”

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To read the letter, and for more information on EPA Library Closings, please visit the ALA Washington Office's EPA Libraries page.