Department of Environmental Protection Act

H.R. 5078, the Department of Environmental Protection Act, would elevate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to a cabinet-level executive department. Under this bill, the agency would be renamed the Department of Environmental Protection, and its leader would hold the title of Secretary rather than Administrator.

For citizens, this change would primarily affect the administrative structure of the federal government by granting the head of environmental policy a permanent seat at the President’s Cabinet table. While the bill focuses on the organizational status and rank of the agency, it aims to provide environmental issues with the same formal standing as departments like State, Defense, and Treasury.