[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 37 (Thursday, February 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1580-S1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Confirmation of Andrew Wheeler

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss why I voted in 
opposition to the confirmation of Andrew Wheeler for the position of 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  Clean air and clean water are not only vital to our public health; 
they are at the very heart of our economy. Nowhere is that more 
apparent than in my home State of Michigan, where we are blessed to be 
surrounded by the Great Lakes, a source of drinking water for more than 
40 million people and the lifeblood of our State's multibillion-dollar 
fishing, shipping, and tourism industries. That is why I spent my 
entire career in public service fighting to protect our environment.
  In the Michigan State Senate, I worked to ban oil drilling under the 
Great Lakes to preserve our most precious source of drinking water. 
When I represented the city of Detroit in the House of Representatives, 
I fought to end harmful air pollution coming from piles of petcoke that 
left homes coated in dust while being breathed into the lungs of 
residents.
  In my first term in Congress, I supported landmark climate change 
legislation that sought to drastically reduce deadly greenhouse gas 
emissions that are continuing to warm our planet at an unsustainable 
rate. In the U.S. Senate, I led the charge to protect the Great Lakes 
from pipeline spills and pressured industry to cut down their deadly 
sulfur-dioxide emissions that give Michigan communities some of the 
highest rates of asthma anywhere in the country.
  I have championed these vital efforts because protecting our 
environment in Michigan is in the best interest of everyone, and I will 
never let up on that fight. There is so much more work to do and even 
more pressing challenges ahead of us. We cannot afford to turn back the 
clock on clean energy innovation or refuse to address climate change, 
and that is, unfortunately, what we can expect from the EPA now that 
Andrew Wheeler has been confirmed. His entire career has been devoted 
to undermining public health and environmental protections.
  As Acting EPA Administrator, he is personally responsible for the 
most significant efforts to roll back our Nation's bedrock 
environmental laws in the Agency's history. He oversaw the proposed 
rollback of Clean Water Act protections that safeguard drinking water 
for tens of millions of people. He is leading efforts to weaken 
standards on the largest sources of greenhouse gases and to reduce 
protections against climate change. When he was a Senate staffer, he 
drafted the so-called ``Clear

[[Page S1581]]

Skies Act,'' which was directly intended to undermine the Clean Air 
Act.
  As a lobbyist for Murray Energy, Wheeler represented a company that 
didn't just knowingly violate environmental laws but consistently put 
its own employees' safety at risk by undermining basic protections for 
coal miners. He has even undermined the widely supported mercury and 
air toxics standards. These commonsense standards would have protected 
people, particularly children, from a well-known neurotoxin that 
impairs fetal brain development and reduces children's ability to 
learn.
  Every single one of these actions has a direct bearing on human lives 
and has put people at risk. In Michigan we have witnessed firsthand the 
visceral and painful human costs when public leaders fail to keep our 
drinking water and our air quality safe. Just ask the people of Flint 
whom they would want to have in charge of protecting their drinking 
water. I can tell you it certainly is not Andrew Wheeler. The city, the 
State, and the EPA all contributed to the crisis that poisoned 
thousands of children through lead exposure, and now those children 
will suffer lasting consequences for the rest of their lives.
  While I am proud that the Senate was able to come together to provide 
initial Federal funding to help Flint replace its lead pipes, the 
community needs continued support going forward. I am committed to 
doing everything in my power to ensure that the people of Flint are 
made whole, and that included my opposing this nomination. We cannot 
allow the failures of leadership that led to Flint's devastating crisis 
ever be repeated again.
  The people of Michigan and of every State deserve to know that their 
air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink. Yet 
communities across my State and around the country are facing another 
emerging drinking water crisis. This time it is from toxic fluorinated 
chemicals, known as PFAS, that are currently unregulated by the EPA. 
Rigorous testing has found that 1 out of every 10 water systems in my 
State has unacceptable high rates of PFAS chemicals. Families across 
the State have been exposed to these dangerous chemicals that have been 
linked to cancer, thyroid and heart problems, and even autoimmune 
issues. But under Wheeler's leadership, the EPA has failed to take 
aggressive action to list PFAS chemicals as hazardous waste and to 
establish strong and forcible limits to protect drinking water and to 
limit exposure to these toxic substances.
  While I work to bring Senate action to this issue through legislation 
and hearings, the Wheeler-led EPA thinks action can wait. Michigan 
families certainly deserve better. My constituents are understandably 
concerned about their drinking water, and they are rightfully skeptical 
about who will be at the helm of the Agency charged with keeping water 
safe.
  Since Wheeler has failed to exercise the leadership needed to address 
the environmental concerns we face on a national level, it is clear 
that he is completely unprepared to lead the Agency charged with 
tackling the global crisis of climate change. We must confront climate 
change. I have been advocating for action since before I ran for 
Congress. It is an issue impacting our economy, our health, our safety, 
and our national security. I am committed to continuing to work with my 
colleagues to find innovative and achievable solutions to address 
climate change, but we also need a leader at the EPA who can find 
commonsense ways to address this very serious threat, to protect our 
environment, and to ensure that our country can remain economically 
competitive. We need a leader who will fight to protect the people and 
the interests of my State. Given his abysmal record, it is clear that 
Andrew Wheeler isn't the right person for the job, and that is why I 
voted against his confirmation.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.