The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to remain open for a limited amount of time should Congress fail to reach a deal to fund the government, according to the agency’s head.
With just hours left for lawmakers to pass legislation to fund the government, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told employees to report for work the week of Jan. 22 should a government shutdown occur.
“At this time EPA has sufficient resources to remain open for a limited amount of time in the event of a government shutdown,” Pruitt wrote in an email to EPA employees on Friday afternoon, which was obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“All EPA employees should follow their normal work schedule for the week of January 22, 2018,” Pruitt wrote.
“Should the shutdown occur and remain in place through January 26, 2018, we will provide further updates on the agency’s operating status. In addition, all travel needs to be approved by the Administrator’s Office,” Pruitt wrote to employees.
When the EPA runs out of funding, the agency’s shutdown plan only requires 781 of nearly 15,000 personnel to keep working. Those personnel include Pruitt, four Senate-confirmed political appointees and 55 uniformed Public Health Service officers.
Less than 7 percent of EPA employees were deemed essential when the government last shut down in 2013, meaning about 93 percent of agency personnel were nonessential and did not come to work.
“Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and patience through this process, and for all that you do for the EPA and the American people,” Pruitt wrote to staff.
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