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VP Joe Biden Greets Returning Federal Workers At EPA

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some federal workers back on the job Thursday morning were getting a personal welcome from Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden greeted employees returning to the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. Just a few blocks away at the White House, a smiling chief of staff Denis McDonough stood at an entrance to shake hands with returning aides.

About three-quarters of White House workers and nearly all EPA employees were told to stay home during the 16-day federal government shutdown. They returned to the job Thursday after Congress reached a budget agreement.

The EPA workers also got a welcome back memo from newly confirmed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Among other things, it reminded them to remove "out of office" messages from email and voicemail.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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