When I was in college, I had a summer internship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., where I saw firsthand how inefficient, unwieldy and bloated federal bureaucracies can be.

Many of my co-workers didn’t seem to have enough to do; marginally competent employees were passed from office to office and resources were often squandered. I understand Republicans’ determination to trim the size of the government and reduce waste of taxpayers’ dollars.

But I also remember how polluted the Androscoggin and other rivers were back then, how smog blanketed many of our cities, how Earth’s ozone layer itself had dangerously thinned.

Despite its flaws, our lumbering federal bureaucracy dramatically improved water and air quality in Maine and nationwide, brought species such as bald eagles back from the brink of extinction and safeguarded our planet’s atmosphere. And I never lost sight of the fact that the government employees I worked with were fellow citizens, ordinary people with families and feelings like mine.

Yes, downsize the government. Look for savings. However, federal agencies should continue their critically important work and respect the government workers who serve us rather than treating them as enemies.

Nathaniel Wheelwright
Harpswell