{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-pappas-leads-effort-to-staff-new-drug-testing-lab-amid-trump-hiring-freeze", "ICYMI: \u2018Pappas leads effort to staff new drug testing lab amid Trump hiring freeze\u2019", "2025-11-21", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Chris Pappas", "P000614", "pappas.house.gov", "pappas", "https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "November 21, 2025\n\nIn case you missed it, this week the Union Leader reported on new bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) to exempt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab personnel from the Trump administration\u2019s federal hiring freeze or any workforce reductions related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or the probationary status of employees, as their roles are critical to combating drug trafficking and keeping communities safe.\n\nRead the full story from the Union leader here.\n\nKey Excerpts:\n\nWith a new drug lab scheduled to open in New Hampshire next spring, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., is co-authoring bipartisan legislation to exempt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab workers from President Trump\u2019s ongoing hiring freeze on civilian workers.\n\nWhile most DEA positions were exempt from the freeze that Trump signed January, Pappas said lab positions such as chemists and fingerprint analysts were not specifically exempt.\n\nDrug overdose deaths are declining in New Hampshire, but Pappas said the work in this new lab is critical in helping to detect the newest generation of illicit drugs such as fentanyl analogs, fentanyl mixed with methamphetamine, xylazine, and other novel psychoactive substances.\n\nPappas said he learned of the hiring glitch while recently attending the DEA\u2019s temporary lab in Bedford where five chemists and fingerprint analysts now work.\n\nIn September, Pappas and the rest of the state\u2019s all-Democratic congressional delegation wrote the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought urging the administration to allow the new lab to staff up in time for its opening.\n\n\u201cIt is crucial that the administration exempt lab personnel because the DEA faces data analysis backlogs, hampering the DEA\u2019s ability to prosecute major drug crimes, identify new and emerging trends, and respond to drug threats in a timely manner,\u201d the delegation wrote.\n\nThe Trump hiring freeze was to expire Oct. 15 but the president extended it indefinitely.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/icymi-pappas-leads-effort-to-staff-new-drug-testing-lab-amid-trump-hiring-freeze"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4916402287781239, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}