The president of the union representing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) workers on Monday urged Congress to include health care protections in a bill to reopen the government as the shutdown approaches record length.

“The U.S. government must be fully funded immediately, and that has to include funding for health care," said Justin Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238.

"The very foundation of EPA’s mission is to protect human health," he continued. "We cannot build a healthy nation while denying Americans........

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