[Senate Hearing 115-609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 115-609
BUSINESS MEETINGS
=======================================================================
MEETINGS
before the
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST AND SECOND SESSIONS
__________
JUNE 15, 2017; DECEMBER 13, 2017; FEBRUARY 7, 2018
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-116 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware,
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia Ranking Member
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
JERRY MORAN, Kansas JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
JONI ERNST, Iowa CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
KAMALA HARRIS, California
Richard M. Russell, Majority Staff Director
Gabrielle Batkin, Minority Staff Director
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware,
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia Ranking Member
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
JERRY MORAN, Kansas JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
JONI ERNST, Iowa CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
Richard M. Russell, Majority Staff Director
Gabrielle Batkin, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
JUNE 15, 2017
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 1
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 2
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Presidential Nomination 561. Nomination of Kristine L. Svinicki,
of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission for the term of five years expiring June 30, 2022.
(Reappointment) From President Donald J. Trump, received June
6, 2017........................................................ 5
Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 561,
referring to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the
nomination of Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member
of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the term of five years
expiring June 30, 2022. (Reappointment) Signed June 15, 2017... 6
DECEMBER 13, 2017
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 7
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 7
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Presidential Nomination 1079. Nomination of R. D. James, of
Missouri, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, vice Jo-
Ellen Darcy, from President Donald J. Trump. Dated October 5,
2017........................................................... 9
Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 1079,
referring to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the
nomination of R. D. James, of Missouri, to be an Assistant
Secretary of the Army, vice Jo-Ellen Darcy. Signed December 13,
2017........................................................... 10
FEBRUARY 7, 2018
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 11
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 12
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Presidential Nomination 1426. Nomination of Andrew Wheeler, of
Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, vice Robert Perciasepe, resigned. From
President Donald J. Trump, received January 8, 2018............ 20
Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 1426,
referring to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the
nomination of Andrew Wheeler, of Virginia, to be Deputy
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice
Robert Perciasepe, resigned. Signed February 7, 2018........... 21
BUSINESS MEETING
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THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m. in
room 406, Dirksen Senate Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman
of the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito,
Boozman, Wicker, Fischer, Rounds, Ernst, Shelby, Moran, Cardin,
and Booker.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Good morning. I call this business
meeting to order.
I thank everyone for coming today. We are here to consider
the nomination of Kristine Svinicki to be reappointed as a
member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Senator Carper and
I will give our opening statements; after that other members
may make remarks until we have a reporting quorum. We are very
close to that right now. Then we are going to proceed to that
one item on the agenda.
As soon as we get the reporting quorum, we will have the
vote. Then I will wait and let every other member make a
statement, if they would like.
I applaud the President's nomination of Ms. Svinicki. She
has served as a member of the NRC for more than 9 years,
including the last 6 months as Chair. The members of the
Environment and Public Works Committee know her well. She has
testified before this Committee 18 times, three times as a
nominee. In every appearance before us as a member of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, she has proven herself to be a
well qualified, experienced, and dedicated public servant.
Twice before, members of this Committee and the full Senate
have agreed. When Ms. Svinicki was first nominated to be a
member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this Committee
reported her by voice vote in 2007. The Senate confirmed her by
voice vote as well. She was renominated for a second term,
reported by voice vote in 2012, confirmed as well by the
Senate.
President Trump has designated Ms. Svinicki as Chair of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 2017. Before joining
the NRC she built a distinguished career in public service;
various staff positions in the Senate, as a nuclear engineer at
the Department of Energy, and as an energy engineer for the
Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
I am going to ask that the remainder of my statement go
into the record, because I do think we have a reporting quorum
at this time.
And I will turn to Senator Carper.
[The referenced information was not received at time of
print.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to ask unanimous consent that my statement be
submitted for the record, and just say a couple things if I
could.
I just want to say how proud I am to serve on this
Committee, and how proud I am to serve with our Chairman and
each one of you. We have a lot of new members of this
Committee. I think the new members bring a lot to the
Committee, and we are happy you are with us.
Former Chairman Inhofe and I had focused a lot of the time
that we have been in the Senate on all things nuclear, and
continue to. He provided great leadership of the Subcommittee
for a number of years, along with George Voinovich. I attempted
to do that as well. And it is important, it is important work;
part of our responsibility to this Committee.
We have had some real turbulence in recent years with
respect to the NRC. There were times when those folks were
before us, and I had never seen five more unhappy people in my
life. We had these very contentious, difficult hearings. I am
sure Jim Inhofe remembers those. Those days are behind us, and
we seem to have a Commission that seems to be working well
together, in a collegial and productive way. So that is good.
Kristine has been a member of the Commission for a number
of years. The members obviously know when she worked on the
floor as a member of our staff, and we have a high regard for
her. I am pleased that I think we are going to get her
confirmed out of the Committee. I certainly support doing so.
There are a couple of other nominees that are before us,
with her, two other Republicans, so we are considering three--
not today, but three Republicans that are sort of like packaged
together. And we have two Democrats, one whose term expires
next year. I have talked to the Chairman about somehow pairing
these two additional Republicans that have been nominated by
this President, to pair them with one of the Democrats whose
term expires next year.
That would give us a situation that, if we could get them
all done, I hope we could get them done quickly, that we would
have three Republicans and two Democrats to continue to serve
on the Commission. So I hope could move in that direction, but
today I hope we will report out Kristine Svinicki.
The other thing I want to say, the Democratic Ranking
Members are raising in Committee hearings and mark ups this
week our concern about moving forward as a body with respect to
health care. I am not going to belabor it, but I do want to say
this, if I could.
As some of you know, I start my day in the gym in the
morning. I know the Colonel over here, and I sometimes run. He
could run me into the ground; he could have this morning. It
was brutal out there. I like to run down to the Lincoln
Memorial. I don't know if you have had a chance to go down
there lately, but engraved up on the walls around President
Lincoln's statue are some of his most famous speeches, like the
Second Inaugural address is there; the Gettysburg address is
there.
Sort of coming on the heels of yesterday a new tragedy was
visited on our colleagues in the House. Thank God for the
Capitol Police. Everyone I have seen since then has shaken
their hands and thanked them. I hope you are doing that as
well. I think we all just got a wake up call that life is dear,
and not something to take for granted.
The other thing is, for me at least, is a reminder that we
need to work together. People want us to work together, not
just on this nomination today, not just on health care. They
want us to work together.
I am going to try to do a better job of doing that. I think
we all could.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Senator Carper follows:]
Statement of Hon. Thomas R. Carper,
U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm pleased to support the re-
nomination of Chairman Svinicki to continue to lead the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
Since joining the Environment and Public Works Committee, I
have worked closely with my colleagues to strengthen the
``culture of safety'' within the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
Due, in part, to our collective efforts, and to the efforts
of NRC leadership and the Commission's dedicated staff, the NRC
continues to be the world's gold standard for nuclear
regulatory agencies.
However, as I've said time and time again, that does not
mean we can become complacent about nuclear safety and our NRC
oversight responsibilities. I'm certain every member of this
Committee shares that perspective.
Ensuring the NRC continues to have experienced and
dedicated leadership on the Commission is one of the most
important things this Committee can do to ensure a high level
of safety and excellence at our Nation's nuclear facilities.
I have been consistently impressed with the current
Commission at the NRC and its members' ability to work well
with each other. Each commissioner brings a unique set of
skills to the table, and that certainly includes our Chairman,
Kristine Svinicki. That diverse skill set has served the
Commission--and our country--well.
Mr. Chairman, you and I have talked before about having
parity with the NRC nominees, which continues to be a priority
for me, but I support moving Chairman Svinicki through the
confirmation process at this time out of respect for her long
time service on the NRC and because of the need to provide
certainty and predictability with respect to the leadership of
the NRC going forward.
If Chairman Svinicki is reconfirmed, she will be
responsible for leading the NRC in its mission to protect the
health and safety of the American people by ensuring our
Nation's fleet of nuclear reactors operates efficiently and
safely.
While on the topic of health, I want to express my growing
concern that there is an effort underway to write a health care
bill that only involves a handful of Senators, all of the same
party. The legislation is being drafted behind closed doors,
and despite not yet having a single hearing to review it, there
is talk of quickly moving the bill to the floor.
I know that we all share the desire to make health care
accessible and affordable for every American. In that spirit, I
ask my Republican colleagues to join with us Democrats so we
can work together on a health care bill. Something this
important should be done on a bipartisan basis.
After the horrific events of yesterday morning, I think
we're all a bit more reverent today. I think the idea that
we're Americans first and members of political parties second
is fresher on our minds. And while this Committee doesn't have
jurisdiction over health care, I hope all of us here will
summon our better angels and step away from our respective
party corners.
The public has a right to participate in this process.
Let's remove the shroud of secrecy, and instead, come together
to present the American people with a law that preserves the
parts of the Affordable Care Act that should be preserved and
fixes those that should be fixed so that we can truly make high
quality health care more affordable for one and all.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Carper. I
enjoy working with you and look forward to continuing to work
with you in a bipartisan way. I appreciate your help in
expediting this nomination today.
We have agreed--the Ranking Member and I have agreed that
this will be a voice vote, but members may choose to have the
vote recorded on the nomination. So we will have that
opportunity in a few seconds.
We do have a quorum. I would like to call up nomination
number 561, Kristine Svinicki of Virginia, to be a member of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the term of 5 years,
expiring June 30th, 2022, a reappointment. I move to approve
and report the nomination favorably to the Senate.
Is there a second?
Senator Carper. I second.
Senator Barrasso. All in favor, please say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Senator Barrasso. All opposed, no.
[No audible response.]
Senator Barrasso. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes
have it. We have approved the nomination of Ms. Svinicki to be
a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will be
reported to the full Senate for approval.
The voting part of our business meeting is finished, but I
am happy to recognize any member who wishes to make a statement
on the nomination that we have just approved.
Senator Inhofe.
Senator Inhofe. You are going to see an exodus here of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, which I am going to. But I
want to echo your words, both of you, in praise for Ms.
Svinicki. She has been excellent. I made that expression at our
last meeting, and I am very glad to have her back.
Senator Barrasso. Would anyone else like to make a
statement?
Hearing none, the business meeting is concluded and
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:10 a.m., the business meeting was
concluded.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
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BUSINESS MEETING
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:54 a.m. in room
406, Dirksen Senate Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman of
the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Inhofe, Capito, Boozman,
Fischer, Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan, Carper, Merkley, Gillibrand,
Booker, and Harris.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Good morning.
I call this business meeting to order.
Some members have to leave in the next couple of minutes to
get to votes in the Commerce Committee, so I am going to call
the business meeting to order and thank all of you for coming
on time.
We are here to consider the nomination of R. D. James of
Missouri to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works. After we vote, we will then conclude our business
meeting and turn to our hearing focused on oversight of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
As the Committee heard last week, R. D. James is well
qualified to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works. He will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to
this critically important role in addressing our Nation's
infrastructure needs.
I applaud the President's nomination of such an
accomplished American and dedicated public servant. I urge all
my colleagues to vote yes on Mr. James' nomination.
At this time, I would like now to turn to the Ranking
Member for his statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. I would just say that R. D. James will be
confirmed over my dead body.
[Laughter.]
Senator Carper. I said to him after the hearing, ``R. D.,
you are going to be traveling a lot,'' because I think he has
met with all of us, and he said to each of us, ``I'll come to
your State.'' I said, just make sure you get credit for the
frequent flyer miles you are going to be piling up because
there are going to be a lot of them.
I think we are lucky with somebody as experienced as he is.
Frankly, he is just a delight. I said to some of you, he
reminded me of Sonny Perdue, a young Sonny Perdue. I am happy
he is willing to do this; happy that his wife--Jenny, I think
is her name--is willing to share him; and send his nomination
to the full Senate.
Thank you.
I have a greater, a fuller statement that indicates I do
not plan to block his nomination over my dead body.
[The referenced information was not received at time of
print.]
Senator Barrasso. That will be included in the record.
Senator Carper. Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Now that enough members have arrived, I
would like to move to a vote on the one item on today's agenda.
The Ranking Member and I have agreed to vote on the nominee
by voice vote, but any member may choose to have his or her
votes recorded after the voice vote.
I would like to call up Presidential Nomination 1079, R. D.
James of Missouri to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Civil Works.
I move to approve and to report the nomination favorably to
the Senate.
Is there a second?
Senator Carper. Second.
Senator Inhofe. Second.
Senator Barrasso. All those in favor, say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Senator Barrasso. Opposed, nay.
[No audible response.]
Senator Barrasso. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes
have it.
We have approved the nomination of Mr. James to be
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works which will be
reported to the full Senate for approval.
The voting part of the business meeting is concluded. Any
member who wishes to submit a statement for the record
regarding the nomination may do so.
With that, our business meeting is concluded.
[Whereupon, at 9:58 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other
business.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
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BUSINESS MEETING
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:40 a.m. in room
406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Barrasso
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito,
Boozman, Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan,
Shelby, Merkley, Gillibrand, Booker, and Duckworth.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Good morning. Thank you for coming.
We are here to consider the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to
be the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the EPA. This Committee voted to report Mr. Wheeler to
the full Senate only 2 months ago. His nomination was returned
to President Trump on January 3rd, and on January 8th President
Trump renominated Mr. Wheeler.
So we consider his renomination today. We will follow the
same process that we implemented last November 29th, when we
voted to report his original nomination. To that end, we will
be voting at roughly 9:50 to accommodate members' schedules and
allow us to begin our hearing scheduled at 10 a.m.
So before we vote at 9:50, we will discuss Mr. Wheeler's
nomination. The majority will have 10 minutes, beginning with
my opening statement. The minority will have 10 minutes to
speak, beginning with the Ranking Member's opening statement.
I will make a few brief remarks then reserve the balance of
the majority's time to make additional comments. I know Senator
Inhofe would like to make a comment as well. The Ranking Member
may then recognize those members of the minority wishing to
speak during the minority's time.
After each side has used its time we will move to vote as
soon as a quorum is present. Once we conclude our business
meeting, we will proceed to our hearing, which is scheduled to
begin at 10.
We can start the clock on our time.
I would just say that we are here to vote on the nomination
of Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of EPA. He has
worked in the environmental field for over 25 years. He spent
12 of those years serving this Committee's Clean Air
Subcommittee as the staff director, as Republican staff
director and general counsel. He has proven himself to be a
well qualified, experienced, and dedicated public servant.
We all know that Mr. Wheeler will make an invaluable
contribution to the protection of America's public health and
safety as Deputy Administrator of the EPA. I urge my colleagues
to vote yes on Mr. Wheeler's nomination.
I reserve the majority of my time.
Senator Carper.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
Last week EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appeared before
our Committee. I told him that it would be difficult--at the
conclusion of the Committee hearing, I mentioned to him that it
would be difficult to move forward with additional EPA nominees
until the nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White was withdrawn.
I am pleased that the Administration heeded our words and
responded to our concerns and those of other Senators. I hope
that the White House will name a qualified nominee to run the
Council on Environmental Quality.
Former Governor, worked with 49 other Governors across this
country, I know that every Governor in this country has a
secretary, we have in Delaware the Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control, every State has a similar
kind of department within their State government structure.
There are over 30 Republican Governors in the country right
now. They each have a secretary whose expertise and whose
responsibilities are in line with those of this Committee. They
provide a good pool from which this Administration can draw
excellent talent. It is imperative that they use that pool to
do so.
Today this Committee will vote for the second time on the
nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of EPA.
As a staff member on this Committee for Senator Voinovich and
Senator Inhofe, Mr. Wheeler was not someone with whom we agreed
on each and every policy. However, Mr. Wheeler did prove to be
someone with whom we could work on policies on which we did
agree, like the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, which George
Voinovich and I initially introduced and which Jim Inhofe has
been a champion of for many years since George left us.
I would also note that Mr. Wheeler's responses during and
after last year's hearing on his nomination were for the most
part encouraging. But I would like to take a moment to discuss
what I believe may be some concerns associated with both Mr.
Wheeler and the EPA, and to note that I very much hope these
concerns could be addressed in a manner that would allow the
full Senate to consider his nomination soon.
Recently the public got a chance to read the so called
Murray Action Plan, a list of policy proposals submitted to
President Trump and other Trump administration officials by Mr.
Wheeler's former client, Bob Murray. The Murray Action Plan
includes any number of measures that EPA has already started to
implement, like repeals of the Clean Power Plan and the Clean
Water Rule and the dissemination of EPA's career work force.
Decimation, the decimation of EPA's career work force.
The document also calls for some measures that EPA has not
yet acted upon. For example, Mr. Murray has called for repeal
of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, rules that limit
dangerous pollutions from power plants, even though industry is
already complying with those rules. Mr. Murray also calls for a
re-evaluation of climate change science and the repeal of EPA's
so called Endangerment Finding, the conclusions that both the
Bush and Obama administrations reached that found global
warming pollution from cars and SUVs was dangerous.
I personally met with Mr. Wheeler twice since his
nomination. I have asked him directly whether he was involved
in writing Mr. Murray's proposals. He assured me that he was
not. He told me that one of Murray Energy's priority issues
that he has worked on, however, was securing health and other
benefits for retired miners.
He also assured me that he views EPA's legal authority to
regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which is based on the
Endangerment Finding as settled law. I have no reason to doubt
Mr. Wheeler's assurances that at least on the question of the
Endangerment Finding he holds a view that is different a
distinct from Mr. Murray's.
However, I am sure that I speak not just for myself when I
say that I do not feel similarly assured by Mr. Pruitt. The
Trump White House has said that it wants EPA and the
Transportation Department to negotiate what I like to call a
win-win on CAFE and tailpipe standards with California. That
means that the Trump administration's policies must be to leave
the Endangerment Finding alone, because the Endangerment
Finding is what gives EPA and California the authority to write
the tailpipe greenhouse gas rules in the first place.
But Administrator Pruitt has repeatedly refused to say this
clearly. For example, in July he told Reuters that there might
be a legal basis to overturn EPA's Endangerment Finding
decision. When I asked him just last week to commit not to
overturn it for as long as he is Administrator, he refused to
make that commitment.
Similarly, when Senator Merkley was here to my left,
Senator Merkley asked Administrator Pruitt to confirm the
public reports to confirm the public reports that the White
House officials have told Mr. Pruitt that he does not have
their permission to move forward with his planned Red Team-Blue
Team challenge to climate science. Mr. Pruitt called these
reports untrue.
And just yesterday the Administrator questioned whether
warming temperatures were a bad thing in the first place.
Administrator Pruitt did agree, however, in response to Senator
Markey, that his preference was to work to find consensus with
California on how to regulate greenhouse gas tailpipe standards
for cars and SUVs. But reports indicate that serious technical
negotiations with California have yet to begin. And any move to
repeal or revise EPA's Endangerment Finding would completely
and immediately derail this entire effort.
Last week, Administrator Pruitt was given the opportunity
to say that he does not plan to do each and every thing that
Mr. Wheeler's former client, Bob Murray, asked the Trump
administration to do. He was offered that opportunity.
Unfortunately, he did not seize that opportunity.
I believe that members of this Committee and members of the
public deserve more clarity about whether the Trump
administration will be guided by science and the law or by Mr.
Murray's demands. That lack of clarity is a large part of why I
cannot yet support quickly moving forward with Mr. Wheeler's
nomination. I believe we all need to understand particularly,
for the items on the Murray Action Plan list--like the
Endangerment Finding, climate science, and the Mercury and Air
Toxics Rule--whether this Administration will govern in a
manner that will bring regulatory certainty to industry or
whether it will accede to the wishes of Mr. Wheeler's former
client and throw our industry into disarray with litigation.
In closing, let me just say this. I look forward to a
continued dialogue with our colleagues in the Senate, with the
Administration over our concerns in hope that we can address
them as we work toward a possible time agreement for the
consideration of Mr. Wheeler's nomination.
With that, we will reserve our time.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Carper.
Senator Merkley, anything that you would like to add to
this nomination?
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am very concerned about the direction of the EPA in this
Administration. We see the censorship of scientists; we see the
denial of science; we see Web pages that help our communities
adapt and prepare for climate change disappearing from the EPA
Web site. We see Administrator Pruitt travel to foreign
countries, promote pollution rather than promote environmental
protection. We see secrecy in meetings and calls and travel
schedules, a complete lack of transparency in serving the
American people. This is not an agency that is trying its best
to protect the health of our citizens, protect our drinking
water, our air, and our public lands.
When Administrator Pruitt was here last week I asked how
many of his EPA's 15 major air actions were supported by the
American Lung Association or by the American Academy of
Pediatrics. And he didn't know, maybe because he hasn't met
with them, hasn't talked to public health advocates, despite
being in charge of environmental protection.
I am afraid that the nominee before us will not help EPA
right its course. He is another lobbyist for another industry.
An Administration that promised to drain the swamp, but instead
we see a revolving door of lobbyists and D.C. bureaucrats
taking appointments in the Administration to new levels on
issues directly related to their former clients.
Plus, they have received waivers to allow them to proceed
to avoid the ethics rules that bar former lobbyists from
participating in any particular matter on which they lobbied in
the past 2 years. This is the swamp; this does not serve the
American people. And we should reject this nomination.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Gillibrand, anything you would
like to add?
Senator Gillibrand. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you.
Senator Inhofe, any members on this side who would like to
have time?
Senator Inhofe. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I just hope that this
isn't part of the continuing effort of my good friends and
colleagues on the other side to obstruct, block every single
Trump administration nominee. I mean, the facts are, and I can
give them to the press later if they ever want to report on
this, but the unprecedented slowness with which we are seating
people in the executive branch, it is unbelievable; it is
remarkable. And yet it never gets reported on. I mean, the
election is over. We need to start putting people in positions
in the executive branch. And slowing, slow rolling, resisting,
whatever you call it, in a way unprecedented, never been done
before, had Republicans done this during the first year of the
Obama administration, the New York Times would have front page
articles every single day.
So I certainly hope that we can finally start moving people
who are qualified, we don't have these week long ``debates'' on
people who then get 90 Senators to vote for them. It is
outrageous. We have had railroad accidents recently. The head
of the Federal Railroad Administration, the FRA, got voted out
of the Commerce Committee unanimously. Nominated in August, and
he is still sitting there. Why? Why? It is outrageous.
And I hope we can finally start confirming people the way
the American people want us to. Mr. Wheeler, I think, is well
qualified. Some people might not like his background on certain
issues. He was staff director on this Committee for a number of
years.
And I think with regard to the EPA Administrator, the one
thing he is doing is promoting the rule of law, again. The last
Administrator, Gina McCarthy, she ignored the rule of law every
chance she could. The U.S. Supreme Court put a stay on her
Clean Power Plan, first time in the history of the U.S. Supreme
Court that they put a stay on a rule that had not gone to a
court of appeals. Why? Because they probably almost certainly
thought it was illegal.
So I just hope we can start moving forward and getting
people nominated. And this idea of delaying every single
nomination, every single one, and my colleagues on the other
side know they are doing it. Unfortunately, the press won't
call them out on it. Unprecedented. And it is time we start
getting people in the executive branch. It doesn't help that we
delay every single Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary. I just
hope that this resistance and delay and blockades of well
qualified people is finally, finally going to end.
And my colleagues on the other side know, and I have talked
to a lot of them, a lot of them don't even agree with it. But
certain elements of their party are requiring that every single
nomination to the executive branch, regardless of how
qualified, regardless of the fact that they are going to get a
95 to 4 vote in the Senate eventually, they get delayed. And I
certainly hope this isn't part of that delay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Carper. Can I just respond?
Senator Barrasso. Yes.
Senator Carper. To our friend and colleague from Alaska----
Senator Barrasso. Start the clock on the minority side.
Senator Carper. Let me just say, to my friend from Alaska,
let me just remind you, unlike Alaska, I live in a State where
90 percent of our pollution comes from places outside of our
State. I live in a State--we are the lowest lying State in
America. We see every day the vestiges of sea level rise. And I
am sitting here, in order to work with all of you, but also to
represent the interests of my State and our part of the
country. We are deeply concerned.
I think you know me well enough to know I am not one who is
interested in just blocking nominations for the sake of
blocking nominations. I think, to the Senator from Alaska, I
have also spent some time in the military. They have something
in naval aviation called refusal speed. And it is when you
bring your airplane out on the taxiway to the end of the runway
to go through your checklist and prepare to take off. You get
cleared for takeoff, and the airplane moves down the runway.
You finally reach a speed where you can either push forward on
the throttle and take off or you can pull back on the throttle
and stay on the ground.
I use that analogy, I think we are at something like
refusal speed in this Committee. And we have already moved
forward, and my colleague may not recall, but confirming the
nominations of Susan Bodine, Matt Leopold, David Ross, I think
we can make further progress, and I hope today's meeting will
help lead to that.
I was pretty specific in mentioning three or four things
that are especially important to us to be able to move forward
in a more expeditious manner. And I just hope that you will
take that in good faith, and let's work together. We spent much
of last year not working together, really battling each other.
I think there is a chance to work this year on a more positive
basis. I think it has already begun, but I think it could be
continued here today.
Thank you.
Senator Sullivan. Mr. Chairman, may I respond must briefly?
Senator Inhofe. Go ahead.
Senator Barrasso. Briefly, Senator Sullivan. Then Senator
Inhofe.
Senator Sullivan. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle
know me, I don't normally get frustrated like this. But I think
my friend from Delaware would acknowledge that on the broader
issue of moving nominees forward once they get out of committee
on the floor there has been unprecedented delay and
obstruction. I am just asking my colleagues on the other side
of the aisle to cease and start getting these people in their
positions.
Thank you.
Senator Carper. I would just say in response, in the words
of Harry Truman, the only thing new in the world is the history
we forgot or never learned. Don't forget that. I think there is
some blame to go around for both sides.
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Inhofe, and we now do have a
quorum, members have arrived, and we have the quorum. If you
want to?
Senator Inhofe. No, I can wait.
Senator Barrasso. No, go ahead.
Senator Inhofe. Well, it is kind of interesting that the
person that we are talking about right now is Andrew Wheeler.
It is not Scott Pruitt. You guys beat him up for 2 and a half
hours last week, unmercifully, and now you want to continue
doing that again. I think it is probably because you can't
really find anything wrong with the individual who is here. Yet
to answer to your observation, I say to my friend from Alaska
is, they are disciplined, we are not. Just wait and see how
this vote turns out. They are all going to vote against him.
That is the deal they made. Let's go.
Senator Barrasso. Now the time is expired. I would like to
move to a vote on the one item on today's agenda.
The Ranking Member has requested that the nominee for the
Deputy Administrator of the EPA receive a roll call vote. I
would now like to call up Presidential Nomination 1426, Andrew
Wheeler of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency. I move to approve and report
the nomination favorably to the Senate.
Is there a second?
Senator Inhofe. Second.
Senator Barrasso. The Clerk will call the roll.
The Clerk. Mr. Booker.
Senator Booker. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Capito.
Senator Capito. Yes.
The Clerk. Mr. Cardin.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Carper.
Senator Carper. No.
The Clerk. Ms. Duckworth.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mrs. Ernst.
Senator Ernst. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Yes.
The Clerk. Mrs. Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Inhofe.
Senator Inhofe. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Markey.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Merkley.
Senator Merkley. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Moran.
Senator Moran. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sanders.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Shelby.
Senator Shelby. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan.
Senator Sullivan. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Van Hollen.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse.
Senator Carper. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, then ayes are 11, the nays are 10.
Senator Barrasso. We have approved the nomination of Mr.
Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, which will be reported to the full Senate
for approval.
Senator Inhofe, anything additional you would like to add?
Senator Inhofe. No, I don't think so.
I would say, though, that Andrew Wheeler, he worked for me
for 14 years. You get to know a guy pretty well in 14 years. We
passed more legislation together under his leadership, leading
the Committee as well as my personal staff, than we have ever
done before. He will do a good job, and I am glad that he is
going to be confirmed.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Let me just mention the larger point that
Senator Sullivan has made. It is well taken, we have a duly
elected and constituted President of the United States. And he
is entitled to put his team into place. And we have debated Mr.
Wheeler today, and the difference of opinion about that. But
there really can be no difference of opinion that we are
experiencing an unprecedented delay in getting second and third
tier appointees confirmed. We are getting dangerously to the
point, really, where the members of the majority party are
going to have make a decision about changing the rules. And
people should just know that. Because this President is
entitled to his team, and he has not been allowed to put his
team in place.
So a word to the wise should be sufficient. We are getting
to critical mass on the delay, and it has to stop.
Senator Carper. Mr. Chairman, may I have 30 seconds?
Senator Barrasso. Yes.
Senator Carper. In response to my friend, I was privileged
to serve for 8 years as Governor of Delaware. And for those 8
years I had the opportunity to nominate hundreds of people to
serve in different capacities. I had the opportunity to
nominate them, I didn't have the opportunity to name them, to
appoint them. A senate was involved. Usually they agreed;
sometimes they didn't.
And part of our constitutional responsibility is to advise
of concerns. Sometimes both sides maybe get carried away with
that. But we have a path forward here, I think, on this
nomination. I think maybe before you arrived I talked about
that. I would be happy to talk with you about it further. But
there is a path forward. And I hope that we will seize this
opportunity.
Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Senator Wicker.
Senator Wicker. Nominees that get confirmed with 90 votes
are being required to take the full 30 hours. That is the
problem. And the unprecedented delay is something that this
majority is going to have to deal with. Just be advised.
Senator Barrasso. With that, our business meeting is
concluded and adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:02 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other
business.]
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