[Senate Hearing 117-130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-130

 HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JEFFREY PRIETO TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL OF 
   THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; JANE NISHIDA TO BE ASSISTANT 
ADMINISTRATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL AND TRIBAL AFFAIRS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL 
PROTECTION AGENCY; AND ALEJANDRA CASTILLO TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 
           ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

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                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             JUNE 16, 2021

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
  
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]  


        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                                __________

                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
46-478 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
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               COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont                 Virginia 
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island         Ranking Member
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
MARK KELLY, Arizona                  JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
                                     DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
                                     JONI ERNST, Iowa
                                     LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina

             Mary Frances Repko, Democratic Staff Director
               Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

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                                                                   Page

                             JUNE 16, 2021
                           OPENING STATEMENTS

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     1
Capito, Hon. Shelly More, U.S. Senator from the State of West 
  Virginia.......................................................     3
Padilla, Hon. Alex, U.S. Senator from the State of California....     5

                               WITNESSES

Prieto, Jeffrey, Nominee to be General Counsel of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency................................     9
    Prepared statement...........................................    12
        Responses to additional questions from Senator Capito....    15
Castillo, Alejandra, Nominee to be Assistant Secretary for 
  Economic Development of the Department of Commerce.............    18
    Prepared statement...........................................    21
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Kelly............................................    23
        Senator Capito...........................................    23
        Senator Inhofe...........................................    26
Nishida, Jane, Nominee to be Assistant Administrator for 
  International and Tribal Affairs of the Environmental 
  Protection Agency..............................................    27
    Prepared statement...........................................    29
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Kelly............................................    31
        Senator Capito...........................................    32
        Senator Inhofe...........................................    36
        Senator Cramer...........................................    36

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

    Letters of Jane Nishida regarding withdrawing the denials of 
      petitions from:............................................
        Ms. Gillian May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org.......    55
        Mr. Adam Carlesco, Staff Director, Climate & Energy Food 
          & Water Watch..........................................    56
        Mr. Jason A. Schwartz, The Institute for Policy Integrity    57
        Ms. Kassie Siegel, Director, Climate Law Institute Center 
          for Biological Diversity...............................    58
    Letters of Support for Jane Nishida from:....................
        The CalEPA California Environmental Protection Agency....    59
        The U.S. Chamber of Commerce of the United States of 
          America................................................    60
        EH&S and Sustainability at Dow, Inc......................    61
        Alexandra Dapolito Dunn & Peter C. Wright................    62
        Oklahoma Secretary of Energy & Environment...............    63
        Circulate Capital........................................    64
        National Tribal Air Association..........................    65
        National Tribal Water Council............................    66
        Normandeau Associates Environmental Consultants..........    68
        Office of W. Scott Mason.................................    69
        United Tribes of Bristol Bay.............................    70
        Central Council, Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.    72
        W.C. McIntosh, P.E., Esq., Former Assistant Administrator 
          International and Tribal Affairs.......................    73
        Ben Grumbles, Secretary, Maryland Department of 
          Environment & Bob Perciasepe, Presedent, Center for 
          Energy and Climates Solutions..........................    74
    Letters of Support for Alejandra Castillo from:..............
        The Congressional Hispanic Caucus........................    75
        LBJ School of Public Affairs.............................    76
        UNIDOS US................................................    78
        National Urban League....................................    79
        RCAP.....................................................    81

 
 HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JEFFREY PRIETO TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL OF 
   THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; JANE NISHIDA TO BE ASSISTANT 
ADMINISTRATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL AND TRIBAL AFFAIRS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL 
PROTECTION AGENCY; AND ALEJANDRA CASTILLO TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 
           ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
                 Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee, met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m. in 
room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper 
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Cardin, Kelly, Wicker, 
Sullivan, Ernst.
    The committee, met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m. in 
room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper 
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Cardin, Markey, Kelly, 
Padilla, Inhofe, Lummis, and Ernst.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

    Senator Carper. The hearing will come to order.
    Good morning, one and all. It is good to see you all. We 
apologize for being a few minutes late. We had a late startup 
on our simultaneous meeting. We are having a business meeting 
for the Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee. The 
mother of Gary Peters, our chairman, died yesterday and we had 
just a moment of remembrance for her, so I apologize.
    However, we are all here and looking forward to getting to 
know you a little better. I want to welcome you to our 
committee today.
    Today, I am pleased to welcome three outstanding nominees 
who have been nominated for important roles at the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Commerce: 
Jeffrey Prieto, Jane Nishida and Alejandra Castillo. Welcome to 
the EPW Committee.
    These nominees bring with them decades of leadership 
experience and dedication to public service. Thank you all for 
agreeing to serve our Country once again in critical positions 
to help our communities thrive and make sure that our 
government works more effectively for the American people.
    Let me start today with the nomination for EPA General 
Counsel. As chief legal advisor to the EPA Administrator, and 
as the leader of the agency's hundreds of legal professionals, 
the General Counsel must make sure that EPA upholds the 
law.That means making sure the agency is doing everything in 
its power to ensure the American people are getting the full 
protections afforded them by our Country's environmental laws. 
It also means making sure that the rights of the people, 
organizations, cities, States and tribes with whom EPA 
interacts every day are respected and guaranteed.
    It also means seeing to it that EPA conducts its 
rulemakings according to the law, through a transparent 
process, and with scientific and economic analyses that are 
honest and robust. The General Counsel's job is no small 
undertaking. This is why I am delighted to see that the 
President has nominated Jeffrey Prieto for this role. Mr. 
Prieto has dedicated over 20 years of his distinguished career 
to public service.
    In addition to prior roles at EPA, Mr. Prieto has served at 
the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of 
Justice, and most recently, as General Counsel to the 
Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration. As 
someone who has already done the same job at a different 
agency, I expect that Mr. Prieto has a pretty good idea about 
the opportunities and challenges that await him if confirmed. I 
am glad he has agreed to sign up for another round of service, 
a commitment to the American people shaped in part by his 
family's proud history of military service on behalf of our 
Nation.
    Let me say, Mr. Prieto, I was so impressed at the service 
of your family in uniform, extraordinary service over the 
course of many years in any number of wars. I know that his 
dedication will be a boon to the agency and to the American 
people. I am equally pleased that Jane Nishida is nominated to 
be the Assistant Administrator of International and Tribal 
Affairs at EPA. The office that Ms. Nishida has been nominated 
to lead plays a key role in helping communities both here in 
the United States and across the world to benefit from EPA's 
tremendous technical expertise.
    She brings a wealth of State experience, a particularly 
helpful attribute given the predominant role of the States in 
executing our Nation's environmental laws. She also 
appreciates, through her World Bank experience, the robust 
needs of nations across the globe for equitable economic 
opportunity and environmental stability. Our ongoing pandemic 
has laid bare the unique and substantial needs of our tribal 
communities for economic opportunity and environmental equity.
    Ms. Nishida can tap into her experience to cement her 
ongoing efforts to ensure full and fair consultation with 
tribal nations and respect for unique tribal treaty rights. Ms. 
Nishida has been a highly respected leader in the Office of 
International and Tribal Affairs for 8 years, having served in 
both the Obama and Trump Administrations. When President Biden 
was inaugurated earlier this year, Ms. Nishida was selected 
from among all of EPA's career officials to lead EPA as Acting 
Administrator until Michael Regan won confirmation. No small 
testimony to your abilities, Ms. Nishida. Ms. Nishida's 
professional record demonstrates her profound dedication to the 
mission of EPA and the respect she commands from leaders within 
both parties. She will make an excellent Assistant 
Administrator.
    Finally, let me turn to the Economic Development 
Administration, an agency that, frankly, a lot of people have 
not heard of in the past. They are hearing a lot more about EDA 
today. It is an agency that in the middle of the pandemic is 
punching above its weight. They need a great leader and I think 
in you, they are going to have it.
    As we know, EDA supports economic development by providing 
Federal funding to locally driven projects that spur growth and 
job creation, often serving as a lifeline for struggling 
communities. EDA has proven itself to be an agency that punches 
above its weight, as I said earlier. Over the past several 
years, it operated with roughly $300 million in funds per year. 
However, at times of disaster and hardship, EDA has stepped up 
to the plate, distributing billions of dollars to help American 
communities recover and persevere through recent crises, from 
wildfires to hurricanes to, most recently, COVID-19.
    EDA can play a vital role in getting our economy back to 
full speed after the economic crisis borne from the pandemic. I 
am sure that almost every member of our committee can point to 
an example in their State where EDA is helping a community in 
need, helping to put people to work. It has a profound impact 
that can reach every corner of our great Nation. So, I am 
grateful that Alejandra Castillo is stepping up to lead the 
agency at this crucial time. Ms. Castillo is a veteran of the 
Commerce Department, where she served as national director of 
the Minority Business Development Agency.
    Her leadership in that role helped secure over $19 billion 
in financing for minority owned small businesses across the 
Country, which helped create over 30,000 jobs. I am looking 
forward to seeing Ms. Castillo bring that record of success to 
EDA. I am confident that all three of these nominees will serve 
our Nation well. Ms. Castillo, Mr. Prieto, and Ms. Nishida, 
thank you for your previous service and for your work on behalf 
of our Nation moving forward. We look forward to hearing your 
testimony shortly. With that, I want to turn to the Ranking 
Member, Senator Capito, for any remarks she would like to 
offer.
    Senator Capito.

        OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, 
          U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, 
Mr. Chairman. Welcome to our three nominees. It is nice to have 
you in front of the committee. You are nominated for positions 
at critical agencies within this committee's jurisdiction: the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the Economic Development 
Administration. Each of you has dedicated the majority of your 
professional life to public service. We are grateful and I 
commend you for that.
    Chairman Carper and I have built upon our excellent working 
relationship this year. We are both very proud of the 
committee's work. We have passed two very significant 
infrastructure bills in this Congress by unanimous votes, 20 to 
zero. We are very proud of that and are waiting to get the 
surface transportation bill up to the floor. Actually, I am on 
Commerce and we are marking up that section today.
    Critical to our ability to do these is transparent 
communication. Chairman Carper and I have had many frank 
conversations about our parties' priorities or our own 
priorities. Through those discussions, we have been able to 
find areas of common agreement and advance significant 
legislation. I desire and want to put before you more of that 
transparent communication with this Administration. I know I 
may not agree with everything the Administration does, but I 
would like to at least be able to understand why, how decisions 
are made, and to be ensured that my constituents have 
meaningful input before decisions are made that will impact 
their lives.
    For example, Ms. Castillo, we had talked about this. There 
is a recent change at the Economic Development Administration. 
EDA plays an important role, as the Chairman said, in West 
Virginia and across the Country. The EDA works hand-in-hand 
with private partners to bolster job creation in economically 
distressed communities. I was disheartened to see the Biden 
Administration strike two investment priorities from the 
application consideration process: Critical Infrastructure and 
Opportunity Zones. This is when someone is trying to get 
investment from the EDA, it sets the priorities and can be on a 
scoring system. The Administration struck Critical 
Infrastructure and Opportunity Zones as one of those areas that 
would carry weight in an application. I have fully supported 
EDA's commonsense focus on Critical Infrastructure and 
Opportunity Zones.
    Opportunity Zones are, by definition, the types of 
communities we ought to be investing in. Infrastructure 
projects such as roads, water, wastewater, and broadband are 
key to driving economic growth. I don't need to tell anyone 
here. It is obviously a big topic in front of the Senate and 
has been for the White House as well. For instance, earlier 
this year, EDA provided $1.75 million to the airport in Raleigh 
County, West Virginia, the Chairman's home county, for 
infrastructure upgrades that will help create over 600 jobs. 
That is the purpose of the EDA.
    I struggle to understand why these priorities would be 
removed, especially at a time when our infrastructure needs are 
universally recognized. As I said, we have talked about this 
and probably asked a question again to get some clarification. 
The EDA has received record funding through the CARES Act and 
the American Rescue Plan, $4.5 billion above regular 
appropriations. Transparency is particularly important. We need 
to know money is going to the communities that need it.
    I also have concerns with the how environmental policy 
decisions are being made. I will be honest with you, we are 
struggling to get information on high-profile decisions coming 
out of this Administration, such as how it developed its new 
Nationally Determined Contribution, NDC, under the Paris 
Climate Agreement. Administrator Regan has said EPA conducted 
an analysis about how it would reach that goal. Numerous media 
outlets have reported on Administration officials talking about 
analyses and modeling conducted to support this target. 
However, so far, none of that information has been made 
available to Congress, to this committee, or to the American 
public, even after we have repeatedly asked for it.
    We all care about our environment and climate. I would like 
to find areas where we might be able to work together to meet 
these challenges. Members of this committee have a track record 
of finding common ground on climate issues, from carbon 
capture, utilization and sequestration to nuclear, HFCs, and 
diesel emissions reductions. We just reported a bipartisan 
surface transportation bill with an unprecedented climate 
title. However, we can only find common ground when we are open 
about our proposed solutions. So far, I feel the Administration 
unfortunately, including the EPA, has not been as transparent 
as it should on climate and environmental issues.
    Whether it is the decision to repeal the Navigable Waters 
Protection Rule that was announced before any formal 
stakeholder process, or the NDC announcement, decisions seem to 
be made in a vacuum without significant, or even any, public 
input. This worries me. I try to stay positive, as the Chairman 
knows. hope it is an oversight and not intentional, and 
something we can improve.
    Mr. Prieto and Ms. Nishida, you both have impressive 
management experience in the Federal Government. I look forward 
to hearing from you some lessons learned from your past 
experience and ideas for improving transparency. Thank you, 
Chairman Carper, for holding today's hearing. I look forward to 
the testimony.
    Senator Carper. I would say to our witnesses, we reported 
out of this committee a couple of weeks ago unanimously surface 
transportation legislation for the Country 29 to zero. We are 
now awaiting the Commerce Committee for their work on rail and 
safety. The Ranking Member serves on both committees in 
leadership roles. I know you need to be there and here. I 
understand some of the members of the committee may try to walk 
on our turf, our jurisdiction, so please protect our 
legislation.
    Thank you so much. Thank you very much for your statement, 
Senator Capito. It is a joy to work with you. I want to 
recognize Senator Padilla who will formally introduce Jeffrey 
Prieto. Senator Padilla, please proceed.
    Mr. Prieto, I understand you have your wife, two sons and 
daughter. We hope you will introduce them to us also.
    Alex.

            OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ALEX PADILLA, 
           U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

    Senator Padilla. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the 
courtesy of being able to introduce Mr. Jeffrey Prieto before 
us. I will be excusing myself to open today's session of the 
Senate and return later in the hearing.
    Senator Carper. When you leave here, you will go and be 
Presiding Officer?
    Senator Padilla. Just for the moment.
    I thank Ranking Member Capito for the opportunity to 
introduce Jeffrey Prieto from the great State of California, 
who is President Biden's nominee to be the General Counsel of 
the Environmental Protection Agency. As you know, the EPA has a 
critical role to play as we rise to meet the challenge of the 
climate crisis. The EPA staff is limiting air pollution, with 
providing safe drinking water, with protecting against toxic 
chemicals, and cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
    President Biden's ambitious climate agenda depends on the 
EPA's ability to hold polluters accountable and enforce strong 
environmental protections. Mr. Prieto is uniquely qualified to 
serve as General Counsel of the EPA. I am confident the agency 
will benefit from his skills and dedication. Public service is 
personal to him. Mr. Prieto is the grandson of two proud 
immigrants from Mexico. As you recognized, Mr. Chair, he comes 
from a military family.
    He has spent nearly 20 years serving in a number of 
leadership positions within the Federal Government working to 
improve the lives of communities throughout the United States. 
In 2015, Mr. Prieto was confirmed as General Counsel of the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture where he was involved in major 
litigation, including class action lawsuits, high profile 
investigations, and a number of legislative efforts.
    He led the oversight of five divisions and four regional 
offices, eight branch offices consisting of about 280 attorneys 
and legal professionals. Not only did he oversee the offices, 
he personally visited every single USDA office across the 
Country. That is a lot of miles. Mr. Prieto will bring a 
collaborative spirit back to the EPA, one that values the legal 
professionals working to protect human and environmental 
health. That is why it is so critical for EPA to properly serve 
its role.
    Prior to his USDA tenure, Mr. Prieto served in the Justice 
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and as 
Chair of the Diversity Committee Working Group. He was tasked 
with implementing President Clinton's Environmental Justice 
Plan. He worked to identify and address the disproportionately 
high and adverse human health and environmental effects of the 
Justice Department's actions on minority and low-income 
populations and embedded these principles throughout the 
agency.
    His experience leading this effort makes Mr. Prieto 
uniquely qualified to apply environmental justice principles to 
litigation that comes before the Office of the General Counsel. 
I am confident Mr. Prieto will bring to the EPA the same calm, 
deliberative and thoughtful work ethic that he has shown 
throughout his decades of public service. His leadership is 
critical and timely.
    I strongly support Mr. Prieto's nomination and urge my 
colleagues to do the same. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Carper. Thank you for that lovely introduction. Mr. 
Prieto, when it is time for you to testify, I am going to ask 
you a question. Senator Ernst had a great career in the 
military and retired as colonel; Senator Sullivan is a Marine 
Colonel; and I spent a few years of my life in the Navy. There 
are a number of people on this committee who very much revere 
military service. Your family service is just extraordinary. We 
have a few former House members sitting here. Do you know this 
fellow? Congressman where is your district?
    Representative Espaillat. The 13th congressional District 
of New York, Charlie Rangel's old district.
    Senator Carper. We all served with Charlie. It is great to 
see you. Adriano has joined us today to introduce Alejandra 
Castillo. Congressman, it is great to see you. Tell us a bit 
about Ms. Castillo, please.
    Representative Espaillat. Thank you, Chairman Carper, 
Ranking Member Capito, Senator Cardin and members of the 
committee. Thank you for giving me the opportunity today to 
introduce this fantastic nominee to the committee. As you know 
President Biden has nominated Ms. Alejandra Castillo to serve 
as the next Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic 
Development.
    If confirmed, she will be the first woman of color to hold 
this important role. In my opinion, there is no one better 
suited to lead the Economic Development Administration at this 
critical moment. As we continue our recovery efforts, we must 
work hard to reverse all the disparities seen during the 
pandemic. America will not recover unless all of us recover.
    Ms. Castillo is uniquely ready for this challenge and she 
brings to it not just knowledge and experience but also heart 
and dedication. Like me, Ms. Castillo and her family came to 
New York City as immigrants from the Dominican Republic. She 
went to Queens and I landed in Washington Heights. You may have 
seen the movie lately, ``In the Heights.''
    Senator Carper. Are you in that movie?
    Representative Espaillat. I would have hoped but no, I was 
left out. We came up during a difficult time for New York City 
when poverty and violence plagued many parts of our city, 
including communities I am proud to represent in Congress 
today. We both cut our teeth working on the ground, dedicating 
ourselves to uplifting disenfranchised communities.
    Our families both represent the American dream. They came 
here to find opportunity and worked very hard to succeed. Ms. 
Castillo's family owned a bodega in the Bronx. There is a 
certain baseball team there you may all be familiar with. They 
worked hard to give their children opportunities to succeed. A 
premiere public school system in New York City gave Ms. 
Castillo her opportunity to excel and she went on to receive a 
master's and a law degree. After knowing Ms. Castillo for 
nearly 30 years, I can attest that her career has been nothing 
short of remarkable.
    As a senior advisor in the White House Office of National 
Drug Control Policy during the Clinton administration, Ms. 
Castillo demonstrated early her expertise in the policy and 
economic arena. She went on to lead the Hispanic Bar 
Association, where she demonstrated her commitment to 
empowering women in communities of color, as well as advancing 
policies to uplift communities. Upon her return to government, 
Ms. Castillo served in various roles in the Department of 
Commerce, eventually becoming the National Director of the 
Minority Business Development Agency. As the first Latina 
director, Ms. Castillo's strategic management increased the 
agency's budget. She created initiatives to promote minority-
owned businesses in the STEM fields, key to ensuring equitable 
growth in our modernizing economy.
    Most recently, Ms. Castillo has been serving as the CEO of 
the YWCA. She is the first Latina to hold that role as well. 
She has led transformative programming in pursuit of racial and 
gender equality. In her work, Ms. Castillo has met with 
hundreds of communities working to create economic resiliency 
and sustainable growth. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached our 
shores, she worked hard to combat and eventually defeat it. 
Overall, Ms. Castillo's career has prepared her to facilitate a 
competitive and innovative agenda for our Country. I firmly 
believe Ms. Castillo's decades of leadership in economic 
development, gender and racial equality, and government 
administration coupled with her strategic management and 
ability to lead inclusive teams positions her as the most 
experienced, trusted and capable candidate to serve as the next 
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
    The Economic Development Administration, the Commerce 
Department and the American people will greatly benefit from 
her service. Thank you again for this opportunity. I yield 
back.
    Senator Carper. You have introduced a remarkable woman. In 
fact, I was just saying to Senator Cardin we have a remarkable 
trio of nominees here today. Thank you very much. Thanks for 
joining us. Great to see you.
    Representative Espaillat. Thank you so much.
    Senator Carper. Next, let me turn to Senator Cardin. He 
tells me he has known you for 40 years.
    Senator Cardin.
    Senator Cardin. Before the Congressman leaves, I served 20 
years in the House, Senator Carper is a former House member and 
18 of those years, I was on the Ways and Means Committee with 
Charlie Rangel. It is a pleasure to have you before our 
committee. Thank you very much for your testimony.
    Representative Espaillat. I will let him know that I 
testified before you. I am sure he will have an opinion about 
that.
    Senator Cardin. I am sure he will. Let me join my chairman 
in welcoming all three of our nominees and thanking you all for 
your public service. All three of you have given so much to our 
community. We thank you for that. I have the personal pleasure 
to introduce Jane Nishida to the Environment and Public Works 
Committee. As Senator Carper pointed out I have known Jane 
Nishida for 40 years. Her extraordinary career in the 
environmental field includes both governmental and non-
governmental, she has held senior management positions with 
responsibility for policy development and program 
implementation.
    I particularly want to thank her for her service to the 
people of Maryland. She has deep roots in the State of Maryland 
and has served in critical positions in our State, including 
the Maryland Secretary of the Environment and Director of the 
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This committee has heard me talk 
about the Chesapeake Bay just about at every one of our 
meetings. Perhaps the most important part of her experience in 
Maryland was her service to the Maryland House of Delegates as 
staff to the Environmental Matters Committee and the Economic 
Affairs Committee.
    I say that because in those years she served as counsel to 
the committee, I was Speaker of the Maryland House of 
Delegates. It was during those years that we were developing 
the Chesapeake Bay Program under leadership of Governor Harry 
Hughes. Jane Nishida played a very important part in the 
development of the Chesapeake Bay Program. I thank her because 
she really did make the Governor and the legislative leadership 
look good during those years. Thank you very much for your 
help.
    I also want to point out that during that time she 
marshaled the completion of several very important bills during 
her service to the State of Maryland, including the critical 
areas law. She may be talking about that. That was a major 
accomplishment, Mr. Chairman, to get land use adopted back in 
the 1980's that restricted development of land within a certain 
yardage of the Bay Watershed. She helped marshal the successful 
adoption of that law. Also we did wetlands protection laws and 
wetlands are critically important, as you know, to our 
environment and particularly to the Chesapeake Bay as we are 
losing wetlands every day. She was also involved with our smart 
growth fields later on which connected our transportation and 
infrastructure priorities with where we should be doing 
development in order to minimize disruption of communities.
    All that she did and marshaled very successfully which I 
think points out the type of person she is in public service. 
She applied the lessons she learned from the Chesapeake Bay 
Region to the rest of the world working at the World Bank as a 
senior environmental institution specialist. She went on to be 
a senior career leader at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, as you pointed out, serving both the Obama and Trump 
Administrations and has been selected by President Biden to be 
the Acting Director.
    She is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant 
Administrator for International Tribal Affairs. In this 
capacity, she manages EPA's international and tribal programs 
working closely with foreign and tribal governments, 
international and tribal organizations and other key 
stakeholders. She earned her JD from Georgetown University Law 
Center, her Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations 
from Lewis & Clark College.
    It is really my please to introduce Jane Nishida to the 
Environmental and Public Works Committee. I encourage my 
colleagues to swiftly confirm her for this position.
    Senator Carper. Thank you so much, Senator Cardin. I don't 
know how you follow an introduction like that. Before I 
recognize you, we are going to move to your left and our right 
and ask Mr. Prieto if he would be our leadoff witness. I 
understand your wife, Cheryl, is here; your son, Daniel; and 
your son, Matthew. Those are good biblical names. Feel free to 
introduce them at the beginning of your testimony if you would, 
please. Welcome. We are happy you are here.

 STATEMENT OF JEFFREY PRIETO, NOMINEE TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL OF 
              THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

    Mr. Prieto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do want to recognize 
my wife and my two sons, and also, a close family friend, 
Ignacio Moreno, who is here also today.
    Senator Carper. Is your son Daniel here?
    Mr. Prieto. Yes.
    Senator Carper. Raise your hand, Daniel, Matthew. Good to 
see you guys. Thanks for sharing your dad with us. Cheryl, 
thank you for sharing your husband.
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you and good morning, Mr. Chairman, 
Ranking Member Capito and other distinguished members of this 
committee. I thank you all for your willingness to hold this 
hearing. It is an honor and a privilege to appear before you as 
President Biden's nominee for the General Counsel of the 
Environmental Protection Agency.
    I am humbled by the trust this nomination represents and I 
am grateful to President Biden and Administrator Regan for 
providing me this opportunity. Should I have the privilege of 
being confirmed, I look forward to continuing a career 
dedicated to public service. I am also grateful for a wonderful 
family who have supported my endeavors. My wife, Cheryl, my 
sons, Daniel and Matthew, are with me today. I want to publicly 
thank my wife for her support, understanding and patience 
throughout my career. I could not have achieved my professional 
and personal dreams without her.
    I also want to acknowledge my mother, brother, sister, 
uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces in California. 
Senator Carper. Is she watching today? Mr. Prieto. My sister 
set up a computer and she is watching.
    Senator Carper. That is great. What is mom's name?
    Mr. Prieto. My mom's name is Lucy.
    Senator Carper. I love Lucy. We have a Lucy on our staff. 
Tell your mom we said thanks for bringing you into the world 
and sharing you with all of us.
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you, Senator.
    My family is central to my existence and I am so grateful 
to all of them for their prayers and love. My family has a 
distinguished history of military service. Members of my family 
and my community have sacrificed much so that I could have 
opportunities. I have attempted to repay this debt by serving 
the public.
    In addition to public service and sacrifice, I learned 
about hard work through my grandfather, Julio Alvarez. He was 
employed by a lemon packing house in Santa Paula, California 
for more than 50 years. It was his and my grandmother, Lucia's 
dream that their grandchildren would be the first in our family 
to graduate from college. My grandparents used what they earned 
to benefit our family, both in the United States and in Mexico. 
Their love and generosity changed many lives. Their daughter 
and my mother, Lucy, never fulfilled her own dream of 
graduating from college but she worked so that her children 
could seize opportunity and fulfill the dream my grandparents 
put forward. Most importantly, she never lost hope and faith in 
me.
    I am beyond proud to represent both my family and my 
community here today. I believe they both exemplify the highest 
ideals of this Nation, hard work, service, faith, sacrifice and 
patriotism. If confirmed, serving as EPA General Counsel at 
this moment in time would be the highest honor of my career in 
public service. I have been privileged to serve previously as a 
White House Fellow; EPA Attorney Advisor; Department of 
Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division Trial 
Attorney and General Counsel; Senate confirmed General Counsel 
of the Department of Agriculture; and General Counsel of the 
Los Angeles Community College District. My previous legal 
positions have prepared me to serve as the General Counsel of 
the EPA. My Federal Government experience ensures that I 
understand the responsibilities of the position.
    As I demonstrated in my previous appointment, I will 
implement the laws of this Nation as specified by the 
Constitution, expressed by Congress and interpreted by the 
courts. I will provide candid legal advice and counsel to 
Administrator Regan and to the EPA senior executive team that 
is bound and guided but Rule of Law. I look forward to working 
once again with our respected colleagues at the Department of 
Justice to defend the agency's actions when challenged in the 
courts of law.
    I am further pleased by the opportunity to work with the 
incredibly talented lawyers and professional staff of the EPA 
Office of General Counsel. I have had the privilege to work 
with some of those dedicated career attorneys during my 
Department of Justice tenure and now I look forward to managing 
and leading this extraordinary office. I have a simple 
management philosophy of treating colleagues as I hope to be 
treated and if confirmed, I intend to work collaboratively with 
some of the finest attorneys and professional staff as we allow 
the facts, science and law guide our legal analysis and 
judgment.
    Finally, I intend to serve all Americans as EPA seeks to 
achieve the goals of our environmental laws in the Biden/Harris 
Administration. If confirmed, I look forward to listening 
closely and interacting constructively with Congress, 
stakeholders and all members of the general public, especially 
with those communities that historically have not participated 
in matters before the Office of General Counsel. I am committed 
to listening to and learning from all individuals to help me 
and the Office of General Counsel provide sound legal guidance 
to Administrator Regan and EPA clients.
    Should this committee honor me by recommending me, and 
should the Senate confirm me, I will do everything in my power 
to execute the duties of the General Counsel in a professional, 
efficient and expeditious manner. I intend to execute my duties 
with the highest legal of integrity, skill and professionalism 
so as to earn your trust and respect. I am committed to working 
with the leadership of EPA, Congress and stakeholders to 
further the best interests of all Americans. Again, Senator, 
thank you very much for holding this hearing to consider my 
candidacy. I am grateful for your time and am happy to answer 
the committee's questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Prieto follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Carper. Mr. Prieto, thank you for a lovely and 
heartfelt statement. I see your wife sitting back there. Former 
Senator, now President, Joe Biden, said to my wife and probably 
Senator Cardin's wife, Myrna, one or two times how for people 
married to folks in service like we are, President Biden would 
say to the spouses, for you, no purgatory, straight to heaven.
    Thank you so much for putting up with this guy and sharing 
him with the rest of us. Next, we are going to hear from 
Alejandra Castillo. Ms. Castillo, please proceed. I am glad I 
don't have to follow that opening testimony but I know you can.

   STATEMENT OF ALEJANDRA CASTILLO, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT 
    SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                            COMMERCE

    Ms. Castillo. Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, and 
distinguished members of the committee, I am honored to come 
before you today as President Biden's nominee for Assistant 
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Thank you for 
the time you and your staff afforded me to meet with you during 
this past week. It was engaging and informative.
    I share your goals of promoting economic development and 
growth while also seeking to strengthen our Nation's economic 
innovation and global competitiveness. I would also like to 
thank Congressman Espaillat for that kind introduction. Several 
members of my family have joined me today. I am so glad they 
are here. My mother and late father are the source of my values 
toward public service, hard work and love of country.
    I would also like to acknowledge my brothers, nieces and 
nephews who challenge me and teach me the meaning of family, 
understanding and patience.
    Senator Carper. Your mom is here, right?
    Ms. Castillo. My mother is here.
    Senator Carper. Would you raise your hand, ma'am? That is 
nice. The woman back there beaming with pride, sitting in the 
front row is named Susannah, right?
    Ms. Castillo. Susannah, yes.
    Senator Carper. It is nice to see you. Do you have a couple 
of nieces here and nephews?
    Ms. Castillo. Yes, my niece, Alejandra; my niece Katherine; 
and my nephew, Matthew.
    Senator Carper. Another Matthew.
    Ms. Castillo. Another Matthew.
    Senator Carper. Can't have too many of those. Welcome.
    Ms. Castillo. The mission of the Economic Development 
Administration, EDA, is to support distressed communities in 
building resilient economies. When strong economic ecosystems 
are devastated by natural disaster, or even a pandemic, EDA is 
there to support community-led efforts to rebuild. EDA helps 
Americans recover from economic challenges and makes critical 
investments to spur innovation and create economic 
opportunities for all.
    Today, I come before you with a perspective of economic 
development that has been shaped not only by my personal 
background, but also by my professional experience that spans 
over two decades of work in the public, private and non-profit 
sector. I consider myself an embodiment of the American dream. 
Growing up, I watched my parents, who immigrated from the 
Dominican Republic, journey from working as janitors to opening 
small businesses to support our family.
    Experiencing New York City in the 1970's, the scarcity of 
jobs, the lack of economic vitality, and the quasi-bankruptcy 
the city was experiencing, gave me a unique perspective into 
how economic disinvestments can devaState a community. As a 
girl, I often rose at 4 a.m. to help my father run his bodega 
in the Bronx. I refined my math skills by calculating taxes for 
my mother's Avon sales. My father took his own life when I was 
13 during the devastating global economic crisis of the 1980's. 
I saw his struggles. I know that business owners often walk a 
thin line between success and failure. I know nothing more 
devastating to an entrepreneur than when their life dreams fall 
apart.
    In economic development, every challenge is truly an 
opportunity. As we work through this pandemic, we are at a 
unique juncture with the chance to make critical investments in 
infrastructure, support tomorrow's industries and prepare our 
citizens for the work force of the future. We have the 
opportunity to put Americans back to work and increase our 
global competitiveness. Our economy must be inclusive and 
generate growth in communities large and small, and develop 
strategies that have social and economic impact together with 
communities across the Country, whether they be urban, suburban 
or rural.
    Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work 
with diverse communities across the Country from McAllen, Texas 
to Rockford, Illinois, Wheeling, West Virginia to Wenatchee, 
Washington, and so many others. Supporting these communities 
has never been more important. If confirmed, I will be rolling 
up my sleeves as we rebuild our economy. If confirmed, I will 
be, in a sense, returning home. The Department of Commerce is 
where I have spent the bulk of my time in government. In 2014, 
former President Obama tapped me to lead the Minority Business 
Development Agency, an appointment close to my heart given my 
own family's background in small business.
    While I was at the MBDA, we cut overhead and moved more of 
the budget into directly supporting minority business owners 
with resources such as grants and technical assistance funding. 
I also served as the Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for 
the International Trade Administration where I assisted in the 
development of policy initiatives geared toward promoting 
American businesses and industries across the globe. It would 
be a great honor to continue my public service and utilize all 
that I have learned and experienced in the legislative, policy 
and programmatic arena, as well as my ability to lead large 
organizations toward transformational change and impact.
    If confirmed, it is my understanding that I will also be 
the first woman of color to hold this position. That, too, 
would be an immense honor. This role demands nothing short of 
excellence, accountability and measurable outcomes in its 
execution. I commit to working with all of you and the 
dedicated and committed career civil servants at EDA to earn 
the confidence of the American people. Thank you again for the 
opportunity to address you today. I look forward to your 
questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Castillo follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Carper. Thank you very much, Alejandra, for another 
terrific statement. Sometimes when people are nominated to come 
before our committee, I have a chance to talk privately and 
personally with them. I always ask them to talk about their 
parents and the values they learned from them growing up. Each 
of you just told extraordinary stories. You picked the right 
parents. We have one more to go. That is Jane Nishida. You are 
welcome to make your opening statement. I understand there 
might be a niece named Megan out there somewhere. She has her 
hand up. Megan, how are you?
    Sometimes, every now and then, Megan, I notice a relative, 
or it could be a spouse or whatever, a niece, that their lips 
are moving when the nominee speaks. I am going to watch you 
carefully to see if she is taking her cues from you. We are 
glad you are here. I know you are proud of your aunt. Go ahead, 
Jane.

      STATEMENT OF JANE NISHIDA, NOMINEE TO BE ASSISTANT 
   ADMINISTRATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL AND TRIBAL AFFAIRS OF THE 
                ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Chairman Carper, Ranking Member 
Capito, distinguished members of the committee, I am honored to 
come before you today as President Biden's nominee for 
Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs 
for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I want to first 
acknowledge my family who are joining remotely from Portland 
and Seattle and, as you just pointed out, my beloved niece, 
Megan, who is here in person to support me. Thank you, Megan.
    Senator Carper. Who are some of the folks joining us 
remotely from Portland?
    Ms. Nishida. My brother, Robert, and his family and my 
brother, Charles and his family in Seattle.
    Senator Carper. Welcome to both of them.
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you.
    I know my parents are also with me in spirit, especially my 
father who served in the U.S. Army and also the U.S. Government 
for over 30 years, who instilled in me the importance of public 
service. I also want to give a special thanks to Senator Cardin 
for your kind and generous words in introducing me here today. 
As Senator Cardin pointed out, we have known each other for 40 
years. When we were very young, as Senator Cardin pointed out, 
I had the pleasure of working under his leadership when he was 
the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. Thank you, 
Senator Cardin.
    Senator Carper. I understand he spoke at your elementary 
school.
    Ms. Nishida. Exactly. That is when we first met, in 
elementary school. For over 30 years, I have worked in the 
environmental field. Senator Cardin pointed out for over 40 
years, I have worked in the environmental field, working in 
both Federal and State government, in international and non-
governmental organizations.
    It has been my privilege to spend the last 10 years at EPA 
working alongside the incredible staff at EPA who have 
dedicated their careers to furthering the agency's mission to 
protect public health and the environment. I spent the first 20 
years of my career in the State of Maryland, including 7 years 
as the Maryland Secretary of the Environment. As Senator Cardin 
pointed out, one of my greatest accomplishments in Maryland was 
working with him to enact the Landmark Critical Areas law to 
protect the Chesapeake Bay.
    In that legislation, I worked closely with diverse stewards 
of our environment, the farmers, the fisher folks, the local 
governments, the NGO's and citizens of Maryland. I saw 
firsthand the interconnections between agriculture and resource 
protection, economy development and the environment.
    In 2011, I joined EPA first as the Director of the Regional 
and Bilateral Affairs Office within the Office of International 
and Tribal Affairs, and then in 2013, I was promoted to the 
Office's Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, the office I 
currently hold. Taking on this second role has given me the 
opportunity to serve the 574 federally recognized tribes in the 
United States and to visit Indian Country. It has been an 
inspiring experience, allowing me to see first-hand the amazing 
resilience of the Santa Clara Pueblo from what they had to go 
through in the devastating wildfire in 2011.
    Since Senator Inhofe has now joined us, I also was able to 
visit the Quapaw Tribe's impressive clean-up of the Tar Creek 
superfund site. It was truly amazing. I also visited the 
Swinomish Tribe and saw all the important water quality work 
and programs they are doing there. It motivated me to 
strengthen EPA's tribal consultation policy. I am proud EPA was 
the first Federal agency to incorporate the consideration of 
treaty rights and resources.
    Globally, foreign nations are facing similar challenges as 
our tribal nations. These are challenges of extreme weather 
events, climate change, water quality, environmental cleanups, 
and environmental justice. The United States and EPA has a long 
history of providing environmental leadership in our bilateral 
relationships with countries and in multilateral forums. By 
sharing our regional and local best practices and our 
scientific expertise and private sector innovations, much of 
the world has come to view EPA as the gold standard of 
environmental protection.
    My office has helped by promoting regional cooperation in 
Asia to improve air quality and has provided technical 
assistance in Central America to improve environmental 
governance. More recently, my office has focused on the global 
challenge of marine litter, collaborating with other Federal 
agencies, the private sector and NGO partners to promote 
policies and practices to reduce marine litter.
    Should I be confirmed, I look forward to continuing to 
advance EPA's leadership and mission with both our tribal 
partners in Indian Country and our international partners 
around the world. Thank you. I look forward to answering your 
questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Nishida follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Carper. Ms. Nishida, thank you for that statement. 
We will now begin some questions for our witnesses. Senator 
Cardin and I sit side by side in the Finance Committee and side 
by side on this committee. He probably gets tired of seeing me 
but it is a joy to serve with him.
    Senator Inhofe and I served together in the House a million 
years ago and now we get to work together here. He is a former 
chairman of this committee and of the Armed Services Committee.
    Senator Inhofe. I sure got tired of seeing you.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Carper. There was probably a day or two that you 
did. I need to run over to the Finance Committee for a few 
minutes. Senator Cardin is going to hold the gavel. I will be 
back as quickly as I can and rejoin the questioning. I leave 
you in very good hands. I look forward to seeing you all again 
soon. Thank you.
    Senator Cardin. [Presiding] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, 
let me thank all three of our nominees. Your background, record 
and commitment to public service is very, very impressive. We 
have a lot going on today. Secretary Yellen is before the 
Senate Finance Committee. That is where Senator Carper is going 
to ask some questions. I will be joining him in a little bit. 
The Commerce Committee is marking up a major part of the 
infrastructure bill this morning. There are a lot of things 
going on.
    Recognize there will be some distractions here in our 
committee but we wanted to advance your nominations as quickly 
as possible with hearings. Mr. Prieto, I want to start with 
you, if I might. I appreciate our opportunity yesterday to have 
a conversation about enforcement issues but with Jane Nishida 
here, I am going to ask you a question about the Chesapeake 
Bay.
    We have worked long and hard on the Chesapeake Bay Program. 
It was built from the local government up with State and local 
governments coming together with stakeholders, including the 
agricultural community, the development community, local 
governments in an effort in which we all agreed we had to do 
best science to save the Chesapeake Bay, a national treasure. 
It was really an extremely dangerous situation considering the 
historic loss of oysters and the amount of development in the 
watershed, so we took dramatic actions at the local level with 
the support of all our stakeholders.
    The business community, the labor community, and the 
farming community joined with six other States and the District 
of Columbia to form the Chesapeake Bay Alliance. We came to the 
Federal Government and it joined us. They are basically the 
enforcement arm to make sure we do what we way we will do under 
the Bay agreements and enforce through TMDLs. I say that 
because recently litigation was filed with concern as to 
whether the State of Pennsylvania was living up to their 
commitments and whether EPA, in fact, was doing what it was 
responsible to do and enforcing the agreement. In a way, it was 
a friendly lawsuit. The State of Maryland has joined it.
    My question to you is you are going to play a critical role 
to make sure we move forward with the commitments under the 
Chesapeake Bay Program using best science and respecting local 
priorities in meeting those targets. I would just ask your view 
as to how you can accommodate the advancement of the Chesapeake 
Bay Program initiatives and preserve this national treasure?
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you very much for that question. Again, 
thank you again for your graciousness yesterday in spending 
some time with me. Again, I want to recognize your leadership 
obviously in this area. During my Federal service, I have been 
a longtime resident of Maryland and recognize the work as well 
as my colleague, Ms. Nishida, in this very, very important 
matter.
    Senator, you mentioned litigation. I will be fully briefed. 
I know this is a priority and look very much to getting a 
briefing in terms of the status of the litigation. Again, I 
also look forward to working with the very, very talented 
career staff at the Office of Water, the concept of TMDLs and 
the MPDS, something I am familiar with and look forward to 
working with them, being briefed and working toward resolution 
of this litigation.
    Again, thank you, Senator, for your leadership and I very 
much look forward to working on this issue if confirmed.
    Senator Cardin. If confirmed, do you commit to working with 
members of this committee, keeping us engaged and informed as 
this process moves forward?
    Mr. Prieto. Senator, absolutely. Again, I absolutely 
respect the relationship, the bipartisan nature of this 
committee and again, look forward to working closely with this 
committee on all of these important issues.
    Senator Cardin. Ms. Castillo, I appreciated our 
conversation. EDA plays a critically important role. I was 
listening to Senator Capito talk about a concern of hers about 
a particular project. We talked about one of our requests which 
happened to be in Annapolis dealing with tourism which was part 
of the focus of the COVID relief funds made available to EDA. I 
was very pleased by our conversation.
    EDA can play a critically important role in communities 
where we have challenges in employment and where we have to 
deal with providing opportunity so communities can survive. I 
think about broadband where EDA has played a critical part in 
the last mile connections, in broadband, rural areas and 
underserved communities. Could you share with us your view as 
to how EDA can aggressively help us reach underserved 
communities with economic opportunity?
    Ms. Castillo. Senator Cardin, thank you for the question. 
As I said in my opening statement, in many ways this is a 
personal issue for me because I grew up in these types of 
distressed and disenfranchised communities. I would also say in 
my professional journey, I worked very closely on the ground 
with different communities. EDA's mission at this moment in 
time, a truly critical mission as you pointed out, is to 
provide assistance, planning funding and opportunities to look 
at the whole spectrum of issues that impact but also to 
leverage the tools EDA has in its capacity.
    I will also tell you, as you spoke about broadband, 
President Biden has made a commitment to bring broadband to 
all. I would also say my experience at Commerce is to also 
leverage the other different agencies, like NTIA, for which 
broadband is a true core. I would say, Senator Cardin, that if 
confirmed, my goal at EDA is to make sure we are leveraging all 
of our resources, reaching out to communities, as I mentioned 
to you, to travel to make sure we are not only inside the 
Beltway but reaching communities large and small in a number of 
different ways.
    Senator Cardin. Thank you very much.
    Senator Inhofe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think Senator 
Lummis has made a request to go ahead of me. If that is the 
case, that is fine with me.
    Senator Cardin. Senator Lummis is available by WebEx. 
Senator Lummis, you may proceed.
    Senator Lummis. Thank you, Senator Cardin, and Senator 
Inhofe for giving me the opportunity to precede you. My first 
question is for Mr. Prieto. I would like to talk about regional 
haze. Wyoming has a long history of regulating its air quality. 
That means we have a long history of working with the EPA.
    Wyoming's Department of Environmental Quality, the regional 
office of EPA, our AG's office, the Governor's office, and 
Pacificore worked on two regional haze agreements that have 
been the subject of years of negotiation and litigation. The 
two power plants involved are the Wyodak plant near Gillette 
and the Jim Bridger Plant near Rock Springs. Last year, 
agreement was reached with all these parties. In summary, the 
EPA agreed to use the State implementation plan with some EPA 
required revisions for both plants.
    These were really remarkable achievements that recognized 
the importance of State directed and managed enforcement 
decisions under State primacy. The result is that the regional 
haze guidelines were met and met with the agreement of the 
parties including EPA under the State implementation plans and 
not the top-down Federal plans. Just last week, Wyoming was 
informed the Jim Bridger agreement would not be sent to the 
Federal Register to complete the process. Again, this agreement 
was the result of negotiations and met every EPA request and 
requirement. That decision appears contrary to Administrator 
Regan's earlier statements recognizing the proper role of 
States.
    Mr. Prieto, should you be confirmed as General Counsel, 
will you review the Jim Bridger decision and commit to review 
both the Jim Bridger and Wyodak settlement agreements that if 
the regional haze goals are met, the State implementation plans 
should be honored?
    Mr. Prieto. Senator, thank you very much for that question. 
I also recognize the importance of not only SIPs in terms of 
the working relationship we have with our State partners, but 
in general the working relationship EPA does have with its 
State partners. I can tell you having experience in working 
with State partners in my various roles, it is a relationship I 
believe is very, very important and something I know 
Administrator Regan has committed to. I would also commit to 
provide the legal counsel to support those efforts.
    If confirmed, Senator, again, as you know, I am not part of 
the Administration at this point, but I would very much like to 
be briefed on this particular matter so I can review the 
situation. I can commit to you, Senator, that I will be 
briefed, I will make myself familiar with this particular 
situation, again recognizing the important relationship that 
EPA does have with its State partners.
    Senator Lummis. Thanks very much, Mr. Prieto. As you can 
see, this is a really important topic for my State, especially 
after all the years of negotiation that has occurred among all 
of the parties. I have another question. You will not be 
surprised about this question. I am really concerned about the 
EPA's announced plans to scrap the Navigable Waters Protection 
Rule. You previously served as General Counsel at USDA, which 
manages the 193 million acres in the U.S. Given that 
experience, in your view, where does Federal jurisdiction of 
waters end?
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you very much, Senator, for that 
question. I am absolutely happy to answer. Senator, as you know 
the Clean Water Act does give the Federal Government the 
authority to determine which waters should be protected and 
which waters should not be protected from a Federal standpoint. 
I also absolutely appreciate your acknowledgement of my 
experience in the government as well as serving at USDA. I 
understand the balanced approach that is necessary on many of 
these issues.
    I can say, and I support Administrator Regan and the Office 
of Water's approach, that they will be looking at the past 
examples and will learn from those, and there will be very 
broad stakeholder outreach, not only to our State partners and 
our tribal partners, but also to the other interested entities. 
I very much look forward, Senator, to working with the 
Administrator and the Office of Water to engage in that 
particular support to promote that legal counsel and legal 
support, again, in acknowledgement that there are many 
regulated entities that should be a part of that approach.
    I know the Administrator has already committed to doing so. 
I very much look forward, if confirmed, to supporting his 
efforts and seeking that broad stakeholder approach as we find 
the balance necessary, move forward and follow again the 
science and the law in coming up with the appropriate way to 
regulate the waters of the United States.
    Senator Lummis. Thank you, Mr. Prieto. My time has expired. 
Senator Inhofe, thanks for letting me go ahead. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman. I yield back.
    Senator Cardin. Thank you, Senator. We will now go to 
Senator Inhofe.
    Senator Inhofe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that 
very much. Let me just kind of build on a little bit what 
Senator Lummis was talking about, because that is one of the 
major things I wanted to bring up and talk about. A lot of us 
had serious concerns with the Administration's recent 
announcement that it will repeal and replace the Trump-era 
Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
    Now, I don't think I heard you say that in those words. 
What would your position be on that?
    Mr. Prieto. Senator, again, I have not had the opportunity 
to review that announcement. But I do note that the 
Administrator has indicated, and again, through the Office of 
Water, that as they move forward in this particular area, that 
they are going to engage in that very broad stakeholder 
approach. I think that it is important to State that, as I 
mentioned to Senator Lummis as well, is that there needs to be 
that opportunity as another rulemaking process, if in fact that 
does take place, to ensure that all of the regulated 
communities are going to have the opportunity to speak to this.
    Senator Inhofe. OK, and I appreciate that. Let me kind of 
hurry on a little bit because you are familiar with the 
statement that was made, the specific and significant 
environmental harm or implementation challenges of the Trump 
rule. I heard the statement made by more than one. And yet no 
one is specific as to what that specific and significant 
environmental harm comprised of. Can you help me with that?
    Mr. Prieto. Senator, what I would say in terms of that 
statement, again, I am not part of the Administration. I can 
commit to you, Senator, though, that if confirmed, that I will 
look very closely and support Administrator Regan and the 
Office of Water, as they move forward in that process. I was 
not involved in making that particular statement.
    But I do think, Senator, and I think again this is very 
important, I think it is the interest of Administrator Regan to 
go through a process that will ultimately end up with a durable 
rule, a rule that brings certainty. I think that is something 
that all of the regulated communities, as well as this 
committee, is looking forward to. I am committed to that 
process with the ultimate goal of reaching that particular--
    Senator Inhofe. And I appreciate that, but let me just ask 
you, are you familiar with any specific and significant 
environmental harm?
    Mr. Prieto. Senator, I again, not having crafted that 
particular language and not having looked that, I would not 
comment on that statement. But I do look forward, if confirmed 
Senator Inhofe. Either you are or are not familiar with it. Are 
you familiar with any of that level of harm? Mr. Prieto. I am 
not familiar with any levels of harm, I don't know what that 
statement is referring to in terms of specifics, Senator.
    Senator Inhofe. That is very good. Ms. Nishida, first of 
all, your comments, the fact that you are interested in the 
problems that we have had and successes, that success with the 
Quapaws was one that I was right in the middle of for a period 
of about 8 years. So I am very familiar with that. That was 
successful.
    Now, in May, I sent a letter to the President regarding the 
Administration's lack of transparency in developing its new 
Paris Climate Nationally Determined Contribution Emission 
Pledge. Now, I have not received any response back from that. 
Assuming that you are confirmed, which I believe you will be, 
would you see to it that I do get a response to that request 
that I made some time ago?
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Senator, for your question with 
regard to the Paris Agreement. President Biden has made 
addressing the climate crisis a priority for the entire 
Administration. So my office will be working with the other 
offices within EPA and with our colleagues in the State 
Department and the White House to take a whole-of-government 
approach to addressing the climate change, including the NDC 
commitments that we have under the Paris Agreement. So I will--
    Senator Inhofe. I hate to interrupt you, but this question 
is very specific, and that is, would you see to it that I get a 
response to the letter and the request that I made? I don't 
have the date of this, but it has been some time now. Just 
getting a response.
    Ms. Nishida. Senator, I am not familiar with your letter, 
but I will certainly work with the appropriate officials in the 
U.S. Government----
    Senator Inhofe. And would you let me know either way once 
you do that?
    Ms. Nishida. Senator, I will, as I mentioned, I will work 
with the appropriate officials to let them know of your concern 
with regard to your letter.
    Senator Inhofe. I would appreciate that very much.
    Ms. Castillo, I thank you, I know I abused your time by 
going into a lot of the detail. But I am so familiar with what 
you folks do, and I am so impressed by it. I will look forward 
to working with you on it, probably on more of a regular basis 
than you would really want right now.
    Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Inhofe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Cardin. Senator Kelly.
    Senator Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Ms. Nishida, it is good to have the opportunity to speak 
with you again. As we discussed on our call, we need EPA's full 
commitment to prioritize the cleanup of over 500, 500 abandoned 
uranium mines across the Navajo Nation. These mines threaten 
groundwater supplies used by tribal members. Folks who live on 
the Navajo Nation have a documented higher rate of uranium 
related health issues thank folks who don't.
    Arizona needs a strong advocate in you and Administrator 
Regan to accelerate existing plans to clean up these mines. 
Would you agree that the President's Executive Order on 
Environmental Justice makes the Navajo project a top priority 
for the EPA?
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Senator, for your question. Thank 
you for the time to meet with me earlier. As you point out, the 
Navajo Nation is facing serious problems. It is not right that 
the parents of Navajo children are fearful about whether or not 
their groundwater is contaminated, or whether their children, 
when they are out playing, whether they may be playing near an 
abandoned uranium mine.
    So I do agree with you that this is a top priority for EPA. 
Administrator Regan also believes this. That is why we have 
taken aggressive enforcement actions and have now had $1.7 
billion in settlements. That settlement money will go to help 
address the cleanup of many of the uranium sites.
    In addition to the settlement money, we are pursuing other 
avenues as well. We are working with other Federal agencies 
like the Department of Energy, USDA, and Interior, because we 
know that the legacy in terms of uranium and mines is going to 
require additional resources.
    Senator Kelly. So the settlement, the $1.7 billion, that 
still doesn't sound like enough to clean up all the mines over 
the next 10 years. Is that correct?
    Ms. Nishida. Unfortunately not, Senator. The $1.7 billion, 
the EPA just completed a 10-year cleanup plan. Under the 
cleanup plan, we will be hiring new project remedial officers. 
We will also be issuing contracts, some of which will be to 
members of the Navajo Nation. In addition, we are building the 
capacity of the Navajo Nation to address the cleanup 
themselves.
    However, this is not going to be able to address all the 
sites. It is only going to partially fund it. That is why we 
are working with other Federal agencies and we are pursuing 
other settlement actions so that we can have more resources to 
address this serious problem.
    Senator Kelly. Do you have an estimate for what the total 
cost to clean up all 500 abandoned uranium mines would be?
    Ms. Nishida. No, unfortunately, we do not have an estimate 
at this time.
    Senator Kelly. OK, thank you.
    Ms. Castillo, thank you for joining us today. As you know, 
the American Rescue Plan Act provided EDA $3 billion for 
economic development assistance awards including a new program 
which I supported that provides dedicated funds for hard-hit 
industries, like recreation and tourism. It is important that 
as EDA prepares to disburse these funds, they are done in an 
equitable way throughout the Country and within Arizona. Yet in 
recent months, I have heard from many Arizona stakeholders who 
felt left behind as EDA was distributing CARES Act funding. 
After looking at the number of grants funded in Arizona last 
year, as compared to other States, it is clear that more must 
be done to meet the outstanding needs of Arizona communities.
    Ms. Castillo, as EDA prepares to distribute ARPA funds, how 
important do you believe outreach and quality technical 
assistance programs will be to ensuring that these funds have a 
long-term impact on hard-hit communities?
    Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Senator Kelly. I greatly 
appreciate the question. I will tell you that in my opening 
statement, as well as just my commitment overall, I strongly 
believe that EDA funding must go to communities overall, all 
around the Country. I recognize your concern. I hope to work 
very closely with you and your team as we look in terms of the 
deployment of these funds.
    But more importantly, making sure that we engage, we 
communicate, and we have a transparent process to provide 
technical assistance and support, and making sure that those 
grants are successful. So if informed, I look forward to 
working with you. I have visited numerous times in Arizona, and 
I would like to support you in any way possible.
    Senator Kelly. Thank you, Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Cardin. Senator Markey.
    Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Ms. Castillo, as you know from your experience in minority 
entrepreneurship and economic development, it does take more 
than a new bridge to close the economic gap found in our 
disadvantaged communities. Environmental justice communities 
need large scale investments in climate infrastructure to 
lighten their pollution burdens. But if communities aren't 
ready to take on those major projects, those projects may never 
take place. So I am working on new legislation that would 
leverage the Economic Development Administration's expertise 
and existing grants to support disadvantaged communities in 
identifying and planning out infrastructure projects.
    Ms. Castillo, if confirmed, will you commit to working with 
me on this key priority to ensure that our communities have the 
resources they need to take the first steps in developing 
climate projects?
    Ms. Castillo. Senator Markey, thank you for the question. I 
truly enjoyed our conversation the other day, and indeed, if 
confirmed, I will very much commit to working closely with all 
the Members of Congress. Because I strongly believe that in 
essence we must be able to be accountable and to provide as 
much assistance, whether it is technical assistance, planning 
assistance, an array of resources that EDA has at its disposal, 
but also leveraging, as I mentioned before, the breadth and 
scope of the Department of Commerce to make sure that we are 
working in collaboration across Commerce but also across the 
Federal Government to make sure that disenfranchised 
communities are reached and appropriately funded.
    Senator Markey. So you will work with me on this priority.
    Ms. Castillo. It would be an honor to, sir.
    Senator Markey. Beautiful. Thank you.
    I recently introduced the Environmental Justice Mapping and 
Date Collection Act with Senator Duckworth and Representative 
Cori Bush from Missouri. That legislation would identify 
inequities between communities and would help ensure that at 
least 40 percent of Federal investment benefits flow to 
disadvantaged communities, as stated in President Biden's 
Justice 40 agenda.
    Ms. Castillo, as Assistant Secretary, will you support 
efforts to target investments and track progress in 
disadvantaged communities?
    Ms. Castillo. Senator, I will say that the data is 
critical. I am a huge proponent of making sure that we leverage 
data to make the best decisions possible. If confirmed, I very 
much welcome the opportunity to work with you and to continue 
to make sure that those dollars and funds are reaching 
disenfranchised communities in new and different ways to make 
sure that economic development is realized.
    Senator Markey. Thank you. It is a very high priority that 
Senator Duckworth and I have on this committee, that be the 
ultimate outcome of the new investments which we are going to 
be making. Unfortunately, sea levels aren't the only thing 
rising on our oceans. Emissions from international maritime 
shipping have risen by 10 percent in the last 10 years. Right 
when we need to be cutting our emissions the most, the trend 
may only be betting worse. According to the International 
Maritime Organization, shipping emissions could increase by as 
much as 30 percent by the year 2050. That is why in April I 
reintroduced my legislation calling for the Expanding META Act, 
which would fund research and activities related to zero 
emission technologies from ports and vessels. We need strong 
international agreements on shipping emissions, but industry 
interests in certain countries have reportedly blocked the 
progress that we need.
    The United States has the opportunity to lead on these 
discussions through the Environmental Protection Agency's 
Office of International and Tribal Affairs. Ms. Nishida, if 
confirmed, will you work to support the shipping industry in 
taking steps to reduce its role in the climate crisis?
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Senator, for this question. My 
office in EPA has been working with the maritime industry. We 
have also been working with the International Maritime 
Organization to address the pollution, the emissions that you 
just rightly pointed out are coming from the shipping industry. 
We are also working with ports around the world as well. So 
while I am not familiar with the particular piece of 
legislation that you just identified, I look forward to working 
with you and your office.
    Senator Markey. OK, thank you. The International Maritime 
Organization delegates range from oil companies to shipping 
magnates, the perpetrators of the climate crisis are staying in 
power and not paying for pollution. So Ms. Nishida, if 
confirmed, will the EPA act as a counterbalance to any 
interests that are watering down our maritime shipping 
ambitions?
    Ms. Nishida. Senator, we work with diverse stakeholders. We 
work with the shipping industry, but we also work with NGO's 
and we have worked very collaboratively with a number of 
stakeholders on the important issues not only of shipping in 
terms of emissions, but in terms of oceans in general. We will 
continue to do that to ensure that there is a balance at the 
IMO in terms of addressing this issue.
    Senator Markey. I thank you. I think in a lot of ways it is 
not balanced. We need a counterbalance now because it has been 
so disproportionately skewed toward those vested interests that 
really have an economic stake in not reducing pollution.
    Thank you all so much. Thank you all for your service. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Cardin. Thank you,
    Senator Markey. I think I hear Senator Carper coming back. 
Maybe not. Yes, how did I know that? I will turn it back over 
to Senator Carper.
    Senator Carper. [Presiding]
    Senator Carper. thank you very, very much. I understand 
there is no one else in line to ask questions. As you may know, 
there are three standard questions we ask of our witnesses. On 
one of my other committees, Homeland Security, we ask the 
witnesses to stand and take an oath to be truthful. You look 
trustworthy, so we won't do that. Actually, that is not the 
tradition of this committee, we just ask the questions.
    I would ask a question, I will start with you, Ms. 
Castillo. Do you agree if confirmed to appear before this 
committee or designated members of this committee and other 
appropriate committees of the Congress and provide information 
subject to appropriate and necessary security protections with 
respect to your responsibilities? Do you?
    Ms. Castillo. I do.
    Senator Carper. Jane?
    Ms. Nishida. Yes, I do.
    Senator Carper. Mr. Prieto?
    Mr. Prieto. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Carper. Thanks very much.
    Second question, I will start again with you, Ms. Castillo, 
do you agree to ensure that testimony, briefings, documents, 
and electronic and other forms of communication or information 
are provided to this committee and its staff and other 
appropriate committees in a timely manner?
    Ms. Castillo. I agree, yes.
    Senator Carper. Thank you. Jane?
    Ms. Nishida. Yes, I agree.
    Senator Carper. Mr. Prieto?
    Mr. Prieto. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Carper. Thank you all. You are two for two. One 
more. Do you know of any matters which you may or may not have 
disclosed that might place you in conflict of interest if you 
are confirmed?
    Ms. Castillo. I don't know of any matters.
    Senator Carper. All right.
    Ms. Nishida. No, I do not.
    Senator Carper. Mr. Prieto?
    Mr. Prieto. No, I do not, Senator.
    Senator Carper. Good. All right. Mr. Sullivan, Colonel, how 
are you, my friend? Senator Sullivan. Mr. Chairman. Senator 
Carper. Marine colonel right here. Extraordinary.
    Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Captain.
    Senator Carper. Would you like to get situated? I am 
willing to just turn right to you if you want, to lead us off. 
We have our three witnesses; Mr. Prieto's family just has an 
extraordinary record of military service. Extraordinary. 
Senator Sullivan. Great. I am ready. Senator Carper. You are 
recognized. Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want 
to thank the nominees for your desire to serve our Country, 
continuing to do that. That is really important. I want to get 
a commitment from all of you first. Have you been to Alaska 
before?
    Mr. Prieto. Yes, Senator.
    Senator Sullivan. And can I get a commitment from you guys 
to come up and meet with my constituents on a lot of these 
issues?
    Mr. Prieto. Absolutely, Senator.
    Senator Sullivan. Ms. Nishida?
    Ms. Nishida. Yes, I would be honored to return to Alaska.
    Senator Sullivan. Great.
    Ms. Castillo. I would be honored. And my mother, who is 
here, loves Alaska.
    Senator Sullivan. Good. I am glad she loves Alaska. So do 
I. Let me talk about a couple issues. We get a little bit, I 
will just be very frank, the EPA is not always viewed as 
helpful in my State. We care about our environment, we care 
about our wildlife, probably more than anybody. But we also 
care about jobs and economic opportunity. It is an important 
balance. Sometimes, actually a lot of times, we don't think the 
EPA cares about the jobs and economic opportunity things, which 
really matter to all working families in America. So let me 
ask, can I get a commitment from all three of you to balance 
that and not make it so focused? Again, the EPA a lot of times 
in my State doesn't have a great reputation, viewed as very 
heavy handed, very anti-jobs, very anti-economic opportunity. 
Can I get a commitment from all of you to remember to balance 
that, particularly when you are looking at issues in Alaska? A 
simple yes would do.
    Ms. Castillo. Yes, Senator.
    Ms. Nishida. Yes, Senator.
    Mr. Prieto. Yes, Senator, I would follow again, 
Administrator Regan is committed to that type of balance, and I 
again would support that.
    Senator Sullivan. Good. I have talked to him at nauseum 
about the issue. So Ms. Nishida, let me go into a little bit of 
issues with you. I have talked to Administrator Regan a lot 
about this issue of environmental justice for minority 
communities. We have a very large Alaska Native population; it 
is almost 20 percent of the population in my State. Great 
Americans, patriotic Americans. Alaska Natives serve at higher 
rates in the military than any other ethnic group in the 
Country. But a lot of times the issues, again, that the EPA 
comes down on we view it as kind of anti-jobs, anti-economic 
opportunity. So with regard to tribal matters, can I get your 
commitment to really focus on what the community cares about?
    Let me give you an example. We had this project; an energy 
project called the Willow Project. Fortunately, the Biden 
Administration, they put it on hold, but now they are going to 
support. But of course, the issue of ANWAR, which in my State 
is strongly supported by pretty much everybody. Yes, there are 
some fringe groups that don't. All the Democrats, all the 
Republicans, the vast majority of the Native people support it. 
They are not against it, because it is jobs, it is opportunity. 
Can I get your commitment to really look at what the leaders of 
our Native communities want in terms of these kinds of issues? 
Because a lot of times in the national press they get it wrong. 
Can I get your commitment to look hard at that?
    Ms. Nishida. Senator, as I indicated, I have had the great 
fortune to visit your State on a number of occasions.
    Senator Sullivan. And I know you worked hard on the 
transboundary mining issues, and I appreciate that.
    Ms. Nishida. I have had the opportunity in those visits to 
meet with tribal leaders in your State. So I understand the 
difficult circumstances that Alaska Native villages have and I 
have worked through my office, through the Indian General 
Assistance Program, to provide resources so that Alaska Native 
villages can have the environmental programs and services that 
they so need. So I will continue to work closely with the 
Alaska Native villages and with your office to ensure that 
provide the services that your State needs.
    Senator Sullivan. Great. Let me raise one more issue, Mr. 
Chairman, if I may. It is an issue that the Chairman and I have 
worked on, and it is a little bit more detailed, but it is 
something that there was good bipartisan progress on. I want to 
get your commitment to continue it. Congress in 1971 passed the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, what we call ANCSA, the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. That provided 44 million 
acres of land to our Alaska Native communities in fee simple. 
And the largest land settlement for Native peoples anywhere in 
the world, I still think it is. Very innovative, and Congress 
passed that.
    Unfortunately, a lot of that land that was transferred to 
the Native people was contaminated, already contaminated. Now, 
we fixed, a couple of years ago, again thanks to the Chairman's 
help, this issue of CERCLA liability. Believe it or not, the 
Federal Government said to the Native people of Alaska, here is 
your 44 million acres of land, a lot of it is contaminated, now 
you are on the hook from a liability perspective to clean it 
up. That was obviously ridiculous, and we fixed, that finally 
in Federal law here. But there has been some very innovative 
approaches to try to clean that land up.
    It is the Federal Government's responsibility. You can't 
give people land that is polluted and say, you fix it. So can 
you work with me? There were some good ideas with the EPA 
during the Trump Administration, bipartisan, innovative ideas, 
on how do we cleanup the contaminated lands the feds gave the 
Native people in Alaska, unfair, and how do we work that? Can I 
get your commitment to work with me and this committee and the 
Native people in Alaska on innovative ways to clean up the land 
that they were given in terms of a settlement with their 
Federal Government, and it ended up all being polluted, 
contaminated, not all, but a lot of it? Can I get your 
commitment to work with us in this committee on that issue?
    Ms. Nishida. Senator, the short answer is yes. You were not 
here for my response to Senator Kelly with regard to work that 
EPA is doing in the Navajo Nation. We understand that we honor 
our government to government and our nation-to-nation 
relationship with sovereign nations. Part of that 
responsibility is to work with tribal nations to address the 
contaminated sites on their tribal lands and how it affects 
their tribal resources. So the short answer is yes, Senator. 
Senator Sullivan. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Carper. Thanks so much for joining us today, and 
for your responses to Senator Sullivan's questions. A question 
if I could for Mr. Prieto. Mr. Prieto, as you know, during the 
last couple of Administration, EPA has issued a number of high-
profile rulemakings that have been overturned by the courts. 
The most recent example was the Climate Rule for Power Plants, 
known as the Affordable Rule, the Clean Energy or ACE rule 
issued by the Trump Administration. It was thrown out as you 
know by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals at the beginning of 
this year.
    Not only was this a, I am tempted to say terrible rule, but 
obviously not a very thoughtful one. Not a thoughtful rule. One 
that contributed greatly to climate change, something that we 
are working hard to address. But also the court found that the 
EPA's rulemaking process was at fault. My question for you 
would be, one of the lessons that you have learned, that we 
should learn, maybe, from seeing the judiciary vacate EPA's 
rules like the Trump ACE rule, how will you help EPA improve 
its rulemaking process to make sure that new rules withstand 
judicial scrutiny? Two-part question.
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you very much for that question, Senator. 
Again, as you know, the Office of General Counsel does have the 
lead responsibility in terms of APA review, the Administrative 
Procedures Act. It is something that is incredibly important 
from a process standpoint. Senator, you are absolutely correct 
that many times actions are dealt with the court because the 
APA has not been followed correctly. It is an important rule, 
it is an important rule relative to the aspect of giving the 
public notice.
    It is also an important rule in terms of allowing the 
public to participate. And it is also an important rule in 
terms of how that process actually takes place. I think lessons 
learned, and I won't say in terms of EPA, but in terms of my 
experience, both at the Department of Justice and at USDA, is 
that I can assure you, Senator, that if confirmed that my 
counsel would be again to follow the law as it relates to the 
APA to ensure that if the court is reviewing this from a 
procedural standpoint that the agency has followed it, has 
followed it, has followed it diligently, and to leave those 
issues to be resolved in another manner.
    Senator Carper. All right. Thank you, Mr. Prieto. A 
question if I could for Ms. Nishida. As you know, the tribal 
consultation is one of the most important tenets of the tribal-
Federal relationship, tribes and tribal advocates who often 
indicated that some Federal agencies treat tribal consultation 
as a box-checking exercise. My question would be, how would you 
propose to ensure that the EPA commits to true and meaningful 
tribal consultation?
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Senator, for that question. As you 
just pointed out, tribal consultation is in fact the 
cornerstone of our nation-to-nation relationship with our 
tribal partners. So President Biden, one of the first acts that 
he took was to direct all Federal agencies to review our tribal 
consultation policy. I am proud, as I mentioned in my opening 
remarks, that EPA was one of the first Federal agencies to 
actually adopt our own tribal consultation policy.
    Through this effort we have constantly looked at ways to 
strengthen and provide meaningful consultation. We just 
completed, in fact, consultation on our policy holding two 
national webinars with tribal nations, and we are now in the 
process of identifying the opportunities to strengthen it to 
provide meaningful consultation. As I also mentioned in my 
opening remarks, one of the important aspects for tribal 
nations is the respect and honor of their tribal treaty rights 
and their tribal resources. I am proud to say that EPA's 
consultation policy was also the first in the Nation to 
recognize tribal treaty rights and tribal resources.
    Senator Carper. I don't think you mentioned informed 
consent, but let me just ask. Do you think that the Federal 
Government should move to an informed consent policy with 
tribal nations instead of tribal consultation?
    Ms. Nishida. The informed consent policy I know has been 
considered by some States. I know it is also being considered 
at the United Nations. President Biden has also reconvened the 
White House Council for Native American Affairs. In that 
council he has established for the first time an international 
indigenous issues committee. That committee will be looking at 
the U.N. declaration for the rights of indigenous people, 
UNDRIP, which will include a discussion of informed consent.
    Senator Carper. Good. Thank you. A question if I could for 
Ms. Castillo. You come to this appointment, this nomination, 
with quite a broad work history, from being the national 
director of the Minority Business Development Agency at the 
U.S. Department of Commerce to CEO of the YWCA. Based on your 
experience both in the Federal Government and in the private 
sector, what strengths will you bring to the EPA, especially 
given that experience?
    Ms. Castillo. Thank you, Senator Carper.
    Senator Carper. I love it when witnesses say, ``thank you 
for that question.'' By the end of the hearing, when they say 
that, I say ``you are welcome.''
    [Laughter.]
    Ms. Castillo. Well, I bring over 20 years of experience in 
the legislative policy and programmatic arena. I also bring the 
experience of having worked at Commerce prior to being 
nominated for this position. As well as the work that I have 
done, going into communities and really working with 
stakeholders and partners, I have a great passion for data, 
making sure that we transform organizations into more data 
driven, being able to collect and analyze and report, as well 
as leading large organizations in terms of transformational 
change.
    As you well pointed out previously, EDA is in a unique 
position to really scale and to make sure that it has not only 
operational excellence but in terms of reaching communities and 
unleashing innovative processes as well as innovation and 
technology as well as preparing the work force for tomorrow.
    So I think that I bring not only the skills and the 
experience but also the passion. I love our Country; I have 
worked for it. Right now, it needs our help. EDA is at that 
very unique point to be that catalytic agency to create 
economic opportunity and jobs.
    Senator Carper. This is an exciting time to be part of the 
EDA. I am happy that you might have that chance. We will see. 
Mr. Prieto, another question, if I could, for you, doing civil 
rights at EPA. Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act prohibits 
recipients of Federal financial assistance from discrimination 
on the basis of race, basis of color, national origin when 
implementing programs and activities. However, in recent years 
EPA's enforcement of civil rights has been, in the view of a 
lot of us, woefully inadequate.
    I think it was a 2016 report by the U.S. Civil Rights 
Commission that found that low income and minority communities 
lack, this is a quote from their opinion, ``lack the political 
and financial clout to properly bargain with polluters when 
fighting a siting decision or seeking redress from pollution 
already in their community.'' That is a quote. My question 
would be, what will you do, what could you do to rehabilitate 
civil rights enforcement at EPA?
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you, Senator. I would answer that in two 
parts. As you indicated, as it relates to Title 6, there is an 
Office of Civil Rights within the EPA. I can commit to you, 
Senator, if confirmed, that we would work closely with that 
particular office. They have responsibilities over the Title 6 
matters and also protecting the rights of EPA employees. While 
that is not part of the Office of General Counsel, again it is 
an important role. I would look forward to working very closely 
with that office in support to ensure that those particular 
matters are addressed.
    As it relates, Senator, in terms of settlements where OGC 
is involved, again, under the Executive Order that I have 
experience as it deals with environmental justice, 12898, 
basically from the Department of Justice and EPA standpoint 
really look to meaningful settlements and meaningful 
mitigation. That included involving those communities that are 
directly impacted to have a voice in many of those settlements. 
I do think that is the responsibility and that is something 
that we can continue to improve upon so that the communities 
that are actually affected by the pollution have a meaningful 
say in what those settlements and injunctive relief would 
actually result in.
    Senator Carper. Thanks very much for that.
    The next question will be for you, Ms. Nishida. Let me just 
note that a series of votes has begun on the Senate floor. We 
are about halfway through our first vote. We will be wrapping 
up here in about five or 6 minutes. So if you can hang in there 
with us for five or six more minutes, we will adjourn.
    Ms. Nishida, while tribal consultation is extremely 
important, as you know, providing tribes and tribal communities 
with additional resources such as technical assistance is also 
vital to ensure that these communities have the tools necessary 
to be successful. With that having been said, my question would 
be this. Beyond tribal consultation and technical assistance, 
what other activities or engagements can the EPA be conducting 
to aid tribes and tribal communities?
    Ms. Nishida. Thank you, Senator, for that question. Beyond 
tribal consultation and technical assistance, EPA has a number 
of avenues in which to support tribal governments. One that I 
mentioned earlier to Senator Sullivan is the program that my 
office manages, which is the Indian General Assistance Program 
that provides resources to tribal governments and to tribal 
nations, so that they can build their capacity to manage their 
own environmental programs.
    In addition, when they are ready, we have a program at EPA 
called Treatment as a State, or Treatment as a Sovereign, so 
that when the tribal governments request to have delegation of 
EPA programs, we will review that and again, just as we would 
with a State government, we will delegate program 
responsibility to a sovereign nation and a tribal nation.
    In addition, we have responsibilities, we call direct 
implementation, where EPA will take responsibility for ensuring 
the environmental protection and public health of a tribal 
nation. So through our direct implementation responsibilities 
we work very closely, not only with our regional offices, but 
with the various program offices at EPA to ensure that 
protection in Indian Country is as great as it is throughout 
the rest of the United States. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Carper. Thank you.
    I think the last question I would ask is more of a personal 
nature. I am going to direct this to Mr. Prieto. I had 
mentioned, and it was mentioned a couple of times, your 
family's service, extraordinary military service. Would you 
take the last minute or two and share with us a little bit 
about that service and sacrifice?
    Mr. Prieto. Thank you, Senator, and thank you on behalf of 
my family. As I did share with you, the VFW Post in Santa 
Paulo, California, is named the Mercer Prieto, named on behalf 
of the Mercer family and the Prieto family. I did have three 
uncles that were killed during World War II. One was a test 
pilot for P-38s, one was a Marine in Bougainville, and one was 
a paratrooper on the second day of D-Day, who was dropped 
behind the lines.
    I also have two living cousins in terms of service, one who 
received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in 
Vietnam, and another who was part of special forces in 
Afghanistan during the early parts of that. And I say that to 
say, Senator, that my family inspires me. I cannot match their 
service. One of my cousins, one that I just mentioned, sent me 
a note and said he was proud of me. I said, you inspire me. 
Nothing compares to their service.
    So I thank you for that opportunity, Senator, to say that. 
Again, I am very proud of my family, their service to this 
Country, their love of this Country. Again, I am just an 
extension of their sacrifice, and I do my very small part in 
terms of my public service. I am truly honored that you allowed 
me that opportunity.
    Senator Carper. When we have that conversation, I was just 
struck. I am the last Vietnam veteran serving in the U.S. 
Senate, with the death of John McCain. My grandmother is a Gold 
Star mother. Her 19-year-old son died in a kamikaze attack on 
his aircraft carrier, in the western Pacific in 1944. So we 
know something about sacrifice and service. Those of us who are 
privileged to serve here, it is our service to give honor to 
those who have really sacrificed for this Country. So thank you 
doing that.
    I am going to give a short closing statement, then we will 
do a little bit of final housekeeping. Again, thank you all for 
joining us today. It has been wonderful to have a chance to get 
to know you a little bit before the hearing. And even better to 
see you right here, face to face. In some cases to see your 
mom, or a niece, or a nephew, and to connect with others in a 
more distant way. For those who have tuned in and taken in this 
hearing, usually we have more members who show up for hearings. 
The fact that we have actually fewer members showing up is 
actually a good thing. Because it means there is not a lot of 
controversy surrounding your nominations, which should shorten 
the amount of time it takes to get your nomination up for a 
vote on the floor and to have you confirmed. So it is a good 
thing.
    We appreciate very much your previous service, and we 
appreciate very much your willingness to serve in these 
important roles. We thank you for your testimony today before 
our committee. I have to make some final housekeeping 
announcements, then we are going to close. I love to make 
unanimous consent requests when there are no other Senators 
here so I can just ask for anything.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Carper. I won't do that. But I would like to ask 
unanimous consent to submit for the record a variety of 
materials that include letters from stakeholders and other 
materials that relates to today's nomination hearing. Hearing 
no objection.
    [The referenced information follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Senator Carper. Senators will be allowed to submit 
questions for the record through the close of business on this 
coming Friday, June 18th. We will compile those questions; we 
will send them to our witnesses and ask our witnesses to reply 
by 9 a.m. the next morning.
    [Laughter.] Senator Carper. No, that is not true. We will 
ask you to reply by Wednesday, June 23d, by close of business. 
Wednesday, June 23. So it should be a long weekend for you. 
With that, I don't see anybody else showing up. Do we have 
anyone else remotely? No, we don't. So it was great to see you 
all. Thank you again for being with us. With that, this hearing 
is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:50 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                                 [all]