EPA ISSUES PRE-ELECTION GAG ORDER TO STAFF
EPA Directs Employees to "Refrain From Answering" Media Inquiries
Washington, DC - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed to its staff to "refrain from answering" inquiries from the news media in order to "prevent EPA management from being surprised by news coverage," according to an agency memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
Earlier this month, Bharat Mathur, the top EPA official for the six-state Mid-western region (covering the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin), issued a memo to the entire staff within the region entitled "Working with the Press." The memo, however, orders EPA not to communicate with, let alone work with, the press. Instead, all inquiries from reporters are to be routed to the EPA Office of Public Affairs.
Mathur's memo forbids employees from initiating any contact with a reporter or from responding to inquiries made by the members of the press. Even EPA employees who are designated public spokespersons on particular matters must "report their conversations" with reporters to the Office of Public Affairs.
"The ultimate sin in the Bush Administration is going off message, especially when that discordant note is authoritatively accurate," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is challenging Bush Administration non-disclosure policies for federal workers. "This policy shows the EPA political leadership's profound fear of the expertise of its own professional staff."