Potential Shutdown Support for EPA Employees and SEE Enrolees at EPA
AS OF THIS DATE, THIS PROGRAM HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVATED.
There is again the possibility of an extended Federal government shutdown. If such a shutdown occurs and it continues for an extended time, we anticipate that some EPA employees and Senior Environmental Employment enrollees (SEE) may experience difficulty in putting food on the table or buying essential medicines. In 2019 when this occurred, the Association conducted a Shutdown Support program to provide a small amount of assistance to such individuals. The Association is prepared to conduct a similar program should an extended shutdown occur in the coming months.
AS OF THIS DATE, THIS PROGRAM HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVATED.
Quick Summary
Need Assistance?
EPA Employees (below Grade 12) and SEE Program Participants Working at EPA who have had their pay interrupted by the lapse in appropriations and are having trouble putting food on the table or buying needed medicines are eligible to request assistance if the program has been activated. See details below.
Want to Help?
If the program is activated, EPA Alumni who wish to provide assistance to EPA Employees or SEE program participants working at EPA are asked to make a pledge for the number of $20 gift cards they are willing to purchase and send to specified recipients. See details below.
2024-2025 Shutdown Support Background and Operational Details
The EPA Alumni Association knows that some EPA employees and SEE Enrollees working at the Agency may face serious financial hardship in the event of a prolonged government shutdown. As we did in 2019, we are facilitating assistance from our members for these employees and enrollees.
The Association is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of former EPA employees, founded in 2008, with over 2,600 members who served as EPA employees. More information can be found at www.EPAalumni.com.
The Association has communicated with EPA leadership and ethics officials to make sure that no person participating in the Shutdown Support program is in jeopardy of violating ethics rules. We have designed the program so that participating as either a recipient or a donor is relatively simple and straightforward.
Ethics rules provide that no Federal employee may receive cash gifts. Additionally, employees cannot accept more than $20 in the form of a non-cash gift at any one time from a particular person or entity. Therefore, we will be working with each donor to have them send only a single $20 gift card to each person identified as one of their recipients. Recipients will receive such gift cards from multiple donors, totaling an anticipated $200. These gift cards will come from specified grocery store and drug store chains. They will be electronic "cards" sent by email or physical cards sent by postal mail. Recipients are able to choose the chain store that they would prefer.
Recipients of Shutdown Support
If you are experiencing significant hardship during a prolonged shutdown (such as putting food on the table or buying needed medicines) and wish to participate as a recipient of assistance, you must be at grade 12 or below EPA employee or be a SEE Enrollee working at EPA. The link below will allow you to provide the information needed to verify that you are working at EPA and the necessary contact information so the gift cards can be sent to you. None of the information you provide will be used by the Association for any purpose other than the Shutdown Support effort.
(Link for Potential Recipients--Program Not Yet Activated)
Donors
If you wish to help current EPA employees and SEE Enrollees who are undergoing serious economic hardship, the link below will take you to a registration form. This form will give us the information we need to match you with potential recipients. We will ask you how many potential recipients you can help with a $20 gift card for each recipient. For example, helping ten employees/enrollees would mean pledging to purchase 10 gift cards at $20 for a total of $200. The information you provide will be used by the Association only for the Shutdown Support effort. To reduce the potential for fraud, we suggest purchasing gift cards online rather than purchasing them in-person from a store. We will provide you with detailed instructions about how you can easily accomplish this. Thank you donors for your willingness to help EPA employees and SEE enrollees.
(Link for Donors/Supporters--Not Yet Activated)