[Senate Hearing 119-266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 119-266
BUSINESS MEETING
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MEETING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JANUARY 23, 2025
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
62-638 WASHINGTON : 2026
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COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia, Chairman
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island, Ranking Member
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina MARK KELLY, Arizona
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska ALEX PADILLA, California
PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas ANGELA D. ALSOBROOKS, Maryland
JON HUSTED, Ohio
Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
Dan Dudis, Democratic Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
JANUARY 23, 2025
OPENING STATEMENTS
Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode
Island......................................................... 1
Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West
Virginia....................................................... 3
LEGISLATION
PN547, Nomination Reference and Report, Lee M. Zeldin, of New
York, to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency......................................................... 6
BUSINESS MEETING
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:17 a.m. in room
406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Shelley Moore Capito
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Capito, Whitehouse, Cramer, Lummis,
Curtis, Graham, Sullivan, Ricketts, Wicker, Boozman, Moran,
Sanders, Merkley, Kelly, Padilla, Schiff, Blunt Rochester,
Alsobrooks.
Senator Capito. In the interest of time for everybody, very
busy day with the hearings, I know Veterans Affairs has a
hearing as well, I thought we would go ahead and begin the
hearing, and then as soon as we have full attendance over here
on my side, we will begin the vote. We will suspend any kind of
talking while we do the vote, then we will resume after the
vote.
I am going to ask my Ranking Member, Senator Whitehouse, if
he would like to make an opening statement about the nominee,
or about anything, the weather, it is cold.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Senator Whitehouse. Yes, those are not unrelated.
Three days ago, President Trump took office and as
Americans will recall, one of his oft-repeated pledges through
the campaign was that he was going to lower costs for
consumers. Yet, on the first night of his second term in
office, he signed a raft of anti-environmental executive orders
that, if implemented, will lead to higher prices for consumers.
By the way, worse economic headwinds for our American economy.
Let's do a quick review. He directed EPA to revisit rules
that limit pollution from cars, trucks and power plants. If the
Trump EPA rescinds these rules, consumers will pay thousands of
dollars more for gasoline, hundreds of dollars a year more for
their electric bill, and that is money out of the pocket of
almost every American, transferred into the pocket of the oil
and gas industry that funded Trump's campaign.
He ordered a halt to offshore and onshore wind projects.
Wind energy is key to reducing pollution and achieving
affordable, stable energy prices. Less wind energy means more
electricity demand met by combusting expensive and dirty fossil
fuels, not to mention ceding our global competitive position in
that industry to other countries.
He ordered a reversal of energy efficiency standards for
household appliances which would have saved the average
American over $100 per year. He ordered a dramatic reduction in
the social cost of carbon, the metric used to estimate the
harms, the harms to public health, to agriculture, and to the
economy of each ton of carbon pollution emitted.
A free-to-pollute business model serves the fossil fuel
industry and only the fossil fuel industry. It is morally,
economically, and environmentally wrong. He ordered EPA to
revisit whether greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean
Air Act. Reverse that finding and there is no way for EPA to
reduce the pollution driving climate-flation and insurance and
groceries, rising sea levels and threatened homes along our
coastlines, and of course, the wildfires we are seeing in Los
Angeles and the flooding that we saw in North Carolina.
All of this poses a systemic risk to our economy. The Trump
agenda, after receiving immense funding from fossil fuel, is to
break down climate change protections so that his big oil
donors can sell more oil and gas and pollute for free, which
brings us to Lee Zeldin.
The question becomes, is this gentleman capable of standing
against that big oil political juggernaut? Sadly, all signs
point to no. His consulting for Trump-affiliated organizations,
and his op-eds spouting big oil-approved talking points do not
inspire confidence. He sits on the board of a Trump-affiliated
dark money operation and will not disclose its donors, even to
the ethics officials looking for conflicts of interest at EPA.
I think the American people deserve to know who the donors
are, and of course, so does EPA's ethics teams, so they can
know whether decisions he makes at EPA are driven by those
donor interests or by the public interest.
He did not disavow moving EPA's headquarters, saying only
that he hasn't been told of any plans. When asked if he
supported traumatizing or firing most of EPA's staff, he
equivocated: ``I look forward to working with the talented
career staff at EPA,'' and ``I look forward to working with the
very talented career staff at EPA'' is how he non-answered.
He refused to acknowledge the price of oil is set by a
cartel and driven by geopolitical events over which we have no
control. When asked about wind power, he spouted fossil fuel-
funded talking points about harms to marine life that are
offensive to anyone who knows anything about oceans and marine
life.
We are in a perilous moment, colleagues. We have moved from
the time of climate lines, frustrating and infuriating as that
period was, to the time of climate consequences. We see already
the leading edge of economic danger in the present-term oil and
property insurance markets. You may not like the Budget
Committee report on non-renewals. Treasury just did its own
report, coming to the same conclusions.
The Financial Stability Board in this report just echoed my
warnings of a cascading economic failure, from insurance
markets to mortgages and real eState markets, and through that
to a general shock to our economic system. It is not the first
report to say that. Under Trump, a Commodities Futures Trading
Commission report found, and I am quoting it, ``Climate change
poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial
system and climate change could pose systemic risks to the U.S.
financial system.'' If colleagues did not know what systemic
risks are, have someone look it up. It is a frightening phrase.
The Economist Magazine, not exactly the Green New Deal
publication, put this warning on its cover: ``The Next Housing
Disaster,'' that climate change is going to shake the
foundations of the world's largest asset class.
Guess what? Mother Nature does not care about politics. As
Pope Francis said, ``Slap her, and she will slap you back.''
Insurance is already feeling her slap.
There was a time when Republican Presidents picked serious,
independent people to run the EPA. George W. Bush chose
Christie Whitman. Ronald Reagan chose Bill Ruckelshaus. In this
dangerous time, I do not see Mr. Zeldin having the independence
to lead the agency in a manner that will protect us against
these looming dangers. He does not even seem to see that they
exist.
For that reason, I will vote no, and urge a no vote.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Capito. Thank you, Senator Whitehouse.
We are waiting for one more member on our side, so I will
commence with my opening statement. You can imagine it is in
stark disagreement with my Ranking Member. I did not think this
bodes for the future of our bipartisanship here before the
committee.
I want to thank you again for the generous gift. I did not
bring my new gavel, because--do you remember that gavel they
had in the House and the Speaker hit it and the head flew off?
[Laughter.]
Senator Capito. Yes. I didn't want to damage it, so I
didn't bring it.
Senator Whitehouse. It is a West Virginia gavel.
Senator Capito. Well, then it will stay strong. This is
true. I should have more confidence.
Last week we heard from Congressman Zeldin on his plans for
the agency and his views of the EPA's role in protecting public
health and the environment, and how the agency's actions
intersect with our economy. Congressman Zeldin, I think, was an
excellent witness. He described his intent to take a
collaborative approach, both as Administrator, demonstrated
also through his work with Congress and this committee and all
of its members to address the pressing issues of environmental
needs that our Nation faces in this moment.
In particular, I deeply appreciated Congressman Zeldin's
efforts to meet with all the members of the committee prior to
his hearing, and his commitment to work with all of us to
address the issues we have raised that impact our constituents,
States, and our Country. If he said it once, he said it
probably a dozen times that transparency is going to be one of
the hallmarks of his service.
I believe he is well qualified for the position of
Administrator and will be an excellent addition to the
President's Cabinet. His past experience as the Congressman
representing New York's First congressional District gives him
a unique understanding of how Congress makes laws, oversees the
executive branch, and what is expected when it gives a mandate
to Federal agencies.
As a representative from a northeastern State, and a
district with a diverse set of political views, he understands
what it means to build consensus to achieve durable results. He
also has the necessary experience and integrity as a veteran of
the war on terrorism, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve,
an attorney and a former Congressman, to implement the
President's agenda at the agency pursuant to congressionally
provided authority.
Finally, I was very pleased during his testimony to see how
he intends to run the agency in line with the laws that the
Congress has passed with the goal of prioritizing EPA's actions
on the core responsibilities of the agency that are essential
to protecting health and our land, air, and water.
As we have seen over the past 25 years, the policies of the
EPA can have a significant impact on not just the environment,
but our economy. The EPA should support policies and set rules
that improve the environment while allowing innovators to grow
the economy and protecting the pocketbook of American families.
I believe that is a win-win.
Unfortunately, too often the EPA has strayed from its
mission, instead smothered small businesses and communities, I
can speak from experience, my State of West Virginia, with red
tape, and forced higher costs on our constituents, a lose-lose.
My home State of West Virginia, as I stated, has felt the
negative impacts of EPA's regulatory over-reach in years,
devastating portions of our State's economy and putting my
constituents out of work.
Congressman Zeldin has shown that he understands the
importance of striking the right balance to improve the lives
of Americans across the Country and to protect the environment
while also uplifting communities and cities across the Nation.
I urge our colleagues to support Congressman Zeldin's
nomination, so we can get the EPA back to the basics of
improving the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land
that we use.
Senator Capito. I see my chair over there is still empty. I
will say disappointedly so from my angle. Does anybody have any
other comments?
We will just hold here, we will pause for a moment. Thanks.
Senator Whitehouse. Just to be clear, the Chair has invited
further comments, if you want to make them. Also, we will be
sticking around after the vote. If the vote suddenly starts up
and you have to vote but you also want to make a statement, and
you want to do it in person here in the committee, you will be
afforded that opportunity, for those who came after we agreed
to that.
[Pause.]
Senator Capito. All right, at this time I will ask Senators
to hold their remarks. I will now call up the Presidential
Nomination No. 11-23, Lee M. Zeldin of New York to be
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
I move to approve and report the nomination favorably. Is
there a second?
Senator Sanders. Second.
Senator Capito. Thank you very much. The Clerk will call
the roll.
The Clerk. Ms. Alsobrooks?
Senator Alsobrooks. I vote no.
The Clerk. Ms. Blunt Rochester?
Senator Blunt Rochester. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Boozman?
Senator Boozman. Yes.
The Clerk. Mr. Cramer?
Senator Cramer. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Curtis?
Senator Curtis. Yes.
The Clerk. Mr. Graham?
Senator Graham. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Kelly?
Senator Kelly. Aye.
The Clerk. Ms. Lummis?
Senator Lummis. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Markey?
Senator Whitehouse. No by proxy.
The Clerk. Mr. Merkley?
Senator Merkley. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Moran?
Senator Moran. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Padilla?
Senator Padilla. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Ricketts?
Senator Ricketts. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Sanders?
Senator Sanders. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Schiff?
Senator Shiff. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Sullivan?
Senator Sullivan. Aye.
The Clerk. Mr. Whitehouse?
Senator Whitehouse. No.
The Clerk. Mr. Wicker?
Senator Wicker. Aye.
The Clerk. Madam Chairman?
Senator Capito. Aye.
The Clerk will report the yeas and nays.
The Clerk. Madam Chairman, the yeas were 11, the nays were
8.
Senator Capito. With that, the nominee is favorably
reported and the Chair notes for the record the presence of a
quorum.
If anybody has remarks, we can move forward. I thank you
all for coming. We had great full attendance here. Thank you
for being here.
Does anybody have any remarks they would like to make? If
there are no remarks, I would call this business meeting now
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 9:32 a.m., the business meeting was
adjourned.]
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