Today, Western Caucus Members lauded Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as he appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works during his nomination hearing to be the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and Caucus Members Rep. Markwayne Mullin (OK-02), Rep. Alex Mooney (WV-02), and Rep. Bill Flores (TX-17) issued the following statements in response to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Nomination Hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt:
Chairman Gosar remarked, “Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s level headed, constitutional and fact-based approach to the issues that face the Environmental Protection Agency will prove him to be an excellent Administrator. He will return the EPA to upholding its core mission of protecting our air and water, as opposed to using the Agency as a political weapon to force a partisan agenda on the American people. I am delighted we share the sentiment that supporting the environment and opposing the Obama Administration’s overreaching EPA regulations are not mutually exclusive.”
“ScottPruitt has a proven track record in Oklahoma of ensuring that the EPA doesn’t overstep its boundaries and interfere with the states’ ability to self-regulate,” Rep. Mullin said. “After today’s hearing I am even more confident that when it comes to commonsense regulation of our industries and protecting the well-being of our citizens, the EPA is in good hands with Scott. The far-reaching regulations currently imposed by the EPA are killing our businesses, farms, and citizens. I look forward to Scott’s swift confirmation by the Senate so that he can get to work cutting the red tape of the EPA for the benefit of our country and returning regulatory power to the states.”
“I had the privilege of meeting Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt last year after he had argued against the job-killing Clean Power Plan in front of the D.C. Circuit Court. He has promised to put an end to the onerous rules and regulations that the Obama Administration imposed on the American people and the coal industry. I believe that Scott Pruitt will be a great advocate for the fossil fuel industry and will make an outstanding EPA Administrator,” said Rep. Mooney.
Rep Flores said, “Over the last eight years, the EPA has notoriously overstepped its statutory authority to push the Obama administration’s anti-economic opportunity agenda. As we learned in today’s confirmation hearing, Scott Pruitt will bring a much-needed change in leadership and attitude to the agency. He has a great understanding of the relationship between environmental protections and economic opportunity. We can protect both our environment and our economy, and I am confident that he will be able to lead the agency in accomplishing that mission through more state and local cooperation and less DC bureaucratic overreach.”
Background:
The purpose of today's Senate hearing was to consider the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
An archived webcast of the hearing can be found by clicking HERE.
If confirmed, General Pruitt would be the 14th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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