HILO — Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on Monday instituted an across-the-board hiring freeze for the federal government, but it is still unclear how the order will affect agencies located on the Big Island.
The memorandum released Monday states that “no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled, and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. … In carrying out this memorandum, I ask that you seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds to improve public services and the delivery of those services.”
The order also states that department or agency heads can exempt “any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities.”
The public safety criteria, for example, could apply to the U.S. Geologic Survey, which oversees the Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory. HVO monitors the ongoing Kilauea eruption and the possibility of a Mauna Loa eruption.
“What we know at this point is what the public knows,” said HVO spokeswoman Janet Babb. HVO recently filled three vacant positions, including an administrative job and a technician job.
The USGS is also the parent agency for the Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center.
Justin Pressfield, head of communications for the USGS Western Region, referred inquiries about jobs to the USAJobs.gov website.
According to that site, most current federal vacancies in Hawaii are located on Oahu and fall under the Department of Defense. The executive order does not apply to military personnel.
Several seasonal positions are listed for work in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, part of the National Park Service. Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park is also part of NPS.
HVNP spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said the park was not authorized to comment on the hiring freeze and referred inquiries to the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., which did not immediately respond to comment.
Both USGS and NPS are overseen by the federal Department of the Interior.
Other federal agencies on Hawaii Island include: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, the Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center and the Office of Rural Development; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Defense; and the Department of Commerce, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. NOAA operates the Earth System Research Laboratory on Mauna Loa and is the parent agency for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Several Transportation Security Administration positions, which fall under the Department of Homeland Security, were listed for the Kona International Airport.
Two jobs were listed in Hilo: one for a two-year research position at PBARC and one with the Submillimeter Array telescope and support facilities. The SMA is part of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Though not part of the hiring freeze executive order, the Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Trump administration had prohibited the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new grants or awarding new contracts, and from issuing press releases, blog updates or social media posts. (Story on 3A.)
Last year, an EPA grant issued to Hawaii Island provided nearly $200,000 to replace two Hele-On Bus diesel-powered vehicles with lower emissions vehicles.
Another grant for $750,000 went to two Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors to develop the Hawaii Island Volcanic Smog Sensor Network, a series of portable air-quality sensors.