18 January 2017 Senate EPW Committee holds hearing on Pruitt nomination for EPA Administrator The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on January 18, 2017, held a hearing on Scott Pruitt's nomination as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator that highlighted fundamental disagreements between Republican and Democratic senators on the appropriate role for the EPA in balancing federal and state interests in environmental and health protection and economic growth. In opening statements, Chairman Barrasso (R-WY) objected to the "regulatory zeal" of the Obama Administration's EPA while Ranking Member Carper (D-DE), a former governor, stressed that individual states have limited powers to curb cross-border pollution in the absence of federal EPA enforcement. Over the course of the lengthy hearing, Pruitt faced aggressive and hostile questioning from Democrats, particularly in regard to his record of litigating against EPA initiatives, but solid Republican support from committee members, some of whom cited "anger and fear" amongst constituents toward EPA. Pruitt was introduced to the committee along with strong endorsements by his home state senators Inhofe (R-OK) and Lankford (R-OK). In his prepared testimony, Pruitt pledged to promote a healthier environment and stronger economy for future generations by "focusing on three core philosophies: rule of law, cooperative federalism, and public participation." As state Attorney General, his perspective is that EPA "became dissatisfied with the tools Congress has given it to address certain issues, and bootstrapped its own powers and tools through rulemaking" thus resulting in protracted litigation. In his view, federal environmental statutes direct the EPA to utilize the expertise and resources of states as partners and he will seek to "ensure that EPA returns to its proper role, rather than using a heavy hand to coerce the States into effectuating EPA policies." In fostering "cooperative federalism," he is committed to ensuring that EPA decisions are conducted through an "open process" taking into account the full range of public views "including the economic consequences of any regulation." — He acknowledged that the climate is changing and that human activities are contributing to the changes "in some manner" — Pruitt said that his personal opinion on climate change was "immaterial" but the EPA has an important role in regulating carbon emissions pursuant to Supreme Court direction and the 2009 "Endangerment Finding" by EPA — Pruitt led Oklahoma's litigation against the Obama Administration's CPP initiative to reduce carbon emissions from electric power plants, one of 14 lawsuits that Pruitt has pursued on the state's behalf against EPA regulations — Pruitt cited the Supreme Court's "unprecedented" 2016 decision to intervene and grant a stay as evidence that state would prevail on the merits and that EPA had exceeded its authority — Pruitt said the "rule of law" justified state opposition to wetlands regulations which exceed EPA's statutory authority under the Clean Water Act — Consistent with the views expressed by several Republican senators, he objects to federal regulation of local resources that are far removed from navigable waters — Prompted by Senator Fischer (R-NE) he said he "would uphold congressional intent" and "judiciously" implement RFS waivers — Senator Ernst (R-IA) sought to confirm that he would not change the "point of obligation" but he declined to commit since the issue was currently under administrative review — In response to Senator Duckworth (D-IL) who cited his prior comments that the RFS is an "unworkable, flawed program," Pruitt repeated his commitment to abide by the statute — Pressed by Senator Markey (D-MA), Pruitt said that he would not agree to recuse himself from issues that relate to active litigation that he initiated as state Attorney General — He will follow guidance from EPA's ethics officials and abide by a one-year prohibition on working on issues that involve a "covered relationship" with entities other than the state — Questioned by Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) about campaign contributions from major energy companies, Pruitt said that he was advocating the overall interests of the State of Oklahoma, not individual business sectors, in his actions as Attorney General. — In response to Senator Harris (D-CA), formerly the state Attorney General of California, Pruitt declined to prejudge allowing California a waiver to more strictly regulate national vehicle emissions — On January 13, 2017, EPA finalized its decision to keep future model year vehicle emission standards in place
Document ID: 2017-0114 | |||||
