Huffman, Dexter Condemn Trump’s Plan to Shutter Facilities that Support Local Economies, Demand Answers

Huffman, Dexter Condemn Trump's Plan to Shutter Facilities that Support Local Economies, Demand Answers

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Maxine Dexter (D-Oreg.) led 76 of their colleagues in a letter to General Service Administration (GSA) Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian, expressing strong opposition to the planned facility closures at the Department of Interior (DOI), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the United States Forest Service (USFS) across the country. The members also sent document requests to the impacted agencies demanding answers on the terminations.

"The purging of DOI, NOAA, and USFS offices across the nation is a direct attack on the dedicated public servants who work tirelessly to protect our nation's economy and natural resources, as well the people, industries, and communities that rely on the services these agencies provide. We demand that these closures be halted immediately and that a comprehensive review of the decision-making process that led to this reckless action be conducted," the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers cited the importance of these facilities and the severe ramifications shuttering them would cause, stating: "These agencies are indispensable in their physical locations, delivering vital services from public safety to economic development to the protection of invaluable natural and cultural resources. The proposed closures will undermine our nation's ability to respond to public safety needs and continue lifesaving environmental monitoring."

In the absence of Republican leadership, Ranking Member Huffman and Natural Resources Committee (NRC) Democrats have conducted rigorous oversight into DOGE's reckless cuts:

• On March 14, leaders from the Natural Resources and Science, Space, and Technology Committees sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Lutnick demanding information on the Trump administration's apparent plan to terminate at least 34 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) office leases nationwide.
• Huffman and Dexter sent additional document requests to about facility closures to the Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service.
• Earlier this month, Huffman and Dexter sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, demanding answers on the Department's plans to implement DOGE-mandated reductions in force (RIF)-another reckless move that could disrupt critical government services, kill thousands of jobs that depend on these services, and undermine local economies all over the US.
• Huffman was among the first to sound the alarm upon discovering the GSA's plan to shutter over 2 million sq. ft of office space used by DOI across the country.
• During NRC's first markup of the 119^th Congress, Committee Democrats offered a series of amendments to Republicans' "Authorization and Oversight Plan" designed to use the Committee's oversight authorities to meaningfully rein in Musk and Trump's abuses of power.
• Huffman and Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Val Hoyle sent a letter to Vice Admiral Nancy Hann demanding answers on reports of President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to unlawfully dismantle NOAA. Ranking Member Huffman sent a similar letter to Chair Westerman urging him to use the Committee's oversight authority to investigate Musk and DOGE's infiltration of NOAA, which was ignored.

In addition to Ranking Member Huffman and Representative Dexter, the letter was signed by Reps. Yassamin Ansari, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Donald Beyer, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Troy Carter, Ed Case, Judy Chu, Gil Cisneros, Yvette Clarke, Steve Cohen, Jim Costa, Jason Crow, Danny Davis, Diana DeGette, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Sarah Elfreth, Shomari Figures, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Sylvia Garcia, Pablo Hernández, Chrissy Houlahan, Val Hoyle, Sara Jacobs, Hank Johnson, Tim Kennedy, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Mike Levin, Seth Magaziner, Doris Matsui, Sarah McBride, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, Jim McGovern, Dave Min, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jimmy Panetta, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Delia Ramirez, Emily Randall, Luz Rivas, Deborah Ross, Andrea Salinas, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Bobby Scott, Brad Sherman, Adam Smith, Darren Soto, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Mike Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Paul Tonko, Ritchie Torres, Nydia Velázquez, Maxine Waters, George Whitesides, and Nikema Williams.

The letter was endorsed by Earthjustice, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Center for Biological Diversity, Standing Trees, Environmental Protection Information Center, CalWild, Californians for Western Wilderness, Southern Environmental Law Center, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Silvix Resources, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Environmental Protection Information Center, Next 100 Coalition, Idyllwild Forest Health Project, Aquarium Conservation Partnership, Alaska Wilderness League, Oceana, National Ocean Protection Coalition, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Southern Environmental Law Center, Appalachian Voices, and MountainTrue.

Read the full letter here.

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