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Washington, DC: Activists from several environmental groups protested at Senator Barrasso’s Capitol Hill office, standing in opposition to Barrasso’s vow to rush a committee vote on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator nominee Scott Pruitt despite many unanswered and deeply troubling questions about Pruitt’s record and positions. This morning Senator Barrasso refused a request from the Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) to delay the committee vote on Pruitt.
“Scott Pruitt is an extreme example of President Trump’s rigged Cabinet” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, SVP of Government Affairs for the League of Conservation Voters. “We’re here today because we strongly oppose Scott Pruitt’s nomination to be the administrator of the EPA, and we want to directly tell Chairman Barrasso our many concerns. The fact that Pruitt vigorously denies climate change and consistently acts on behalf of corporate polluters, including suing the EPA 14 times over critical public health protections, shows he has no business leading this agency.”
Attorney General Pruitt has consistently chosen to protect polluters’ profits at the expense of our clean air and water. Senator Carper’s request spelled out how Pruitt has failed to offer complete or, in some cases, any answers to pointed questions from committee members, how he has failed to produce requested documents, and how he left troubling questions about conflicts of interest unanswered.
“At the very least, senators who must vote on his confirmation deserve to have their basic questions answered—especially when they still don’t know his positions on issues critical to the core mission of the EPA,” continued Sittenfeld. “Furthermore, when allegations of corruption and conflict are swirling around many members of President Trump’s administration, it’s more important than ever that a nominee like Mr. Pruitt prove that he is not beholden to the corporate polluters who stand to benefit from a rollback of the environmental protections he will be in charge of enforcing. People deserve an EPA administrator who fights for clean air and water.”
Earlier this month the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched a $50,000 digital ad campaign against Scott Pruitt’s nomination for EPA administrator. The ad highlights Pruitt’s “pay to play” approach to politics, like the thousands of dollars Big Polluters have contributed to him, and his urging the EPA not to look into the dangers of fracking. LCV has also released a memo, “EPA Administrator Nominee Scott Pruitt: Climate Denier and Fossil Fuel Industry Shill,” which can be found online here.