[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1223-S1224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF SCOTT PRUITT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in just a few minutes we will have an 
opportunity to confirm the nominee for the Office of Management and 
Budget. I had several things to say about him yesterday. Now I want to 
talk about the nominee we can advance after that confirmation vote.
  Let me start by saying this. We all want clean water. We all want 
clean air. Promoting these goals is supposed to be the mission of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, but under the Obama administration, 
the agency's leadership prioritized partisan politics instead. It 
pursued policies that often put political benefits ahead of 
environmental ones. It ignored laws. It acted beyond its authority. It 
even treated middle-class coal families as enemies and then attacked 
them without a real sense of compassion.
  The nominee before us, Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, thinks 
it is time for the EPA to get back to the business of clean air and 
clean water instead, and to do so with an appreciation for the 
complexity of our modern world, with awareness of the broader economy, 
with compassion toward those impacted, with respect for the rule of law 
and the rights of State and local governments.
  Pruitt has earned the support of countless groups across the country, 
from State environmental protection officers to agricultural leaders. 
He has the bipartisan backing of dozens of his fellow attorneys general 
as well. They say he is someone who is ``committed to clean air and 
clean water,'' one who is apt to ``come to Congress for a solution, 
rather than inventing power'' for himself.
  What a welcome change. What a welcome change from the previous 
administration.
  This is from a predecessor of Pruitt's in the attorney general's 
office, Democrat Mike Turpen:

       As a Democrat, I take seriously the threats to our 
     environment. . . . I may not agree with all the President-
     elect's policies or nominees, but I do know that Oklahoma 
     Attorney General Scott Pruitt is a good choice to head up the 
     Environmental Protection Agency.
       Scott Pruitt's background in constitutional law, combined 
     with a nuanced understanding of how environmental regulations 
     affect the economy, mean that he will be a thoughtful leader 
     of the EPA, and one capable of striking the balance between 
     protecting the environment and our economy.

  Here is another Democratic attorney general:

       I am a Member of the Democratic National Committee and was 
     a strong supporter of Secretary Clinton's campaign for 
     President. I believe in the core mission of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency.

  And the nominee before us is known to him as ``a staunch defender of 
sound science and good policy as appropriate tools to protect the 
environment of his State.''
  As one Democratic Senator put it, Scott Pruitt simply has ``the right 
experience for the position.''
  He is exceptionally qualified. He is dedicated to environmental 
protection, and, as someone with State government experience, he 
understands the real world consequences of EPA actions

[[Page S1224]]

and knows that balance is the key to making policies that are 
sustainable over the long term. Pruitt is just the candidate we need at 
the helm of the EPA.
  We should confirm him. Doing so will represent another positive 
change in Washington that can give hope to families in Kentucky and 
across the Nation who are still recovering from the last 8 years.

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