"The EPA will only provide research dollars and opportunities to U.S. citizens and permanent residents and will no longer support work in its labs by foreign nationals.

Donna Vizian, EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for administration and resources management, made the policy change in response to an Office of Inspector General audit of the EPA grants program, according to a report by the office released Sept. 26.

The inspector general found that the Environmental Protection Agency paid $14.5 million to fund foreign fellows at its labs through a cooperative agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, and that the money “could have funded research by U.S. citizens or permanent residents.”"

Amena H. Saiyid reports for Bloomberg Environment September 26, 2018. [2]