Since the beginning of September, 400 employees have left the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The reduced staffing levels are by design.
"Buyouts offered by the Trump administration to more than 1,200 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees have prompted 400 people to leave their posts since the end of last month," according to an article by Aggie Mika.
Mika is reporting news first broadcast by the Wall Street Journal in an article that might be behind a paywall for some readers.
"This mass exit has resulted in a 2.5 percent cut in the agency’s staff, the report states, and if workers continue to take the buyouts, the EPA could be facing its smallest operating staff since the late 1980s," adds Mika.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt boasted about the exodus, releasing a statement, saying: “We’re proud to report that we’re reducing the size of government, protecting taxpayer dollars and staying true to our core mission of protecting the environment and American jobs."
Read the full story: Hundreds of EPA Workers Leave the Agency
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