[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1912-S1913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Brenda Mallory

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, the Senate has now invoked cloture on the 
nomination of Brenda Mallory, President Biden's nominee to serve as the 
Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. First, let 
me just say thank you. I want to express my thanks to--and I am sure, 
on behalf of Brenda Mallory--53 Senators who voted in favor of cloture 
so that we can move forward and now debate her nomination. We thank 
each Senator who cast that supporting vote. But I rise in support of 
Ms. Mallory's nomination to this important position. This is a position 
a lot of folks have never heard of, but it is a hugely important one. 
And I urge our colleagues to now join me in supporting, in 
confirmation, a highly, highly qualified nominee as well.
  The Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality--or 
CEQ, as we call it--may not be the first position many Americans think 
about when they consider consequential Presidential appointments. But 
it is a crucial body--critical body--with considerable sway over our 
Nation's health and environment.
  One of my mentors was a Republican named Russ Peterson, a great 
leader of the DuPont company for many years, Governor of Delaware, and 
later served as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental 
Quality during the administrations of both Richard Nixon and Gerald 
Ford.
  Governor Peterson used to refer to his role as Chair at the Council 
on Environmental Quality as similar to that of an orchestra leader, an 
orchestra conductor. He said: You don't play the instruments as the 
Chair of the CEQ, but you try hard to ensure that everyone in the 
orchestra is playing in harmony. The CEQ Chair coordinates action 
across the entire government in order to ensure that Federal Agencies 
are working in harmony and that every Federal decision advances the 
objectives of economic growth, of better public health, and of stronger 
environmental quality.
  While CEQ Chairs do work much like an orchestra leader, a conductor, 
to achieve harmony across Federal Agencies, they must also pursue 
balance. That balance includes at least three components: one, growing 
our economy; two, ensuring a just and healthy society; and, three, 
protecting our environment for current and future generations. Those 
are the clear objectives of CEQ as laid out in the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, known as NEPA, the landmark law that 
created CEQ, often referred to as ``the Magna Carta of environmental 
laws.''
  According to its six pages of statute, NEPA's purpose includes--and I 
am going to quote--``efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to 
the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of 
man.'' I would add ``and woman.'' NEPA enshrines democracy by giving 
the American people a voice to help decide the fate of Federal 
decisions. For 50 years, NEPA has sought to ensure environmental 
protection, public health, and the notion that the American people 
should have a say in the Federal decision-making process that affects 
their lives.
  Like our Constitution, NEPA is one of our Nation's most enduring and 
replicated laws. The same principles of democracy and citizen 
participation enshrined in our Constitution are also enshrined in NEPA.
  Sadly, the Trump administration's CEQ largely walked away from the 
tenets of this 50-year-old law, issuing drastic rollbacks that 
undermine much of its very mission. Instead of advancing the CEQ's 
three objectives--one, a more productive economy; two, a healthier 
society; and three, a cleaner environment--the previous administration 
sadly repeatedly compromised public health and environmental quality 
for the sake of less redtape.
  So one of the many tasks ahead for the next CEQ Chair will be to get 
us back on track--to harmonize our efforts to address the climate 
crisis, safeguard public health, and ensure that

[[Page S1913]]

we are treating others the way we want to be treated. If that sounds 
familiar, it should because that is the Golden Rule, which is found in 
every major religion on this planet.

  There are few people as well qualified to tackle this challenge as 
Brenda Mallory. I believe that she is the kind of experienced, 
dedicated public servant that we need to lead CEQ at this critical 
time, not just for the Agency but for our Nation.
  Ms. Mallory is a deeply committed public servant with extensive 
experience under both Democratic and Republican administrations. No 
stranger to CEQ, Ms. Mallory served there for a number of years after 
an impressive tenure of more than a decade at EPA, including under 
President George W. Bush. She has earned respect from both sides of the 
aisle, and, as the former General Counsel for CEQ, she already knows 
the Agency inside and out.
  Her experience and her reputation as a collaborative, pragmatic 
leader help to explain why she has garnered broad bipartisan support 
among environmental leaders who have served before her. Get this--13 
past Republican CEQ and EPA appointees, including a former CEQ Chair, 
and 4 different Republican EPA Administrators have publicly praised Ms. 
Mallory and urged her confirmation. Now, that doesn't happen every day, 
as the Presiding Officer knows. But among those former Republican EPA 
Administrators who have urged her confirmation are these: Bill Reilly, 
Christine Todd Whitman, Michael Leavitt, Stephen Johnson, and James 
Connaughton.
  Ms. Mallory has also earned the support of the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce. I will say that again. Ms. Mallory also earned the support of 
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--and a whole bushel of environmental 
groups across this land.
  She has represented business interests in the past as an attorney in 
private practice, so she understands the importance of timely and well-
coordinated environmental reviews, which are crucial for getting 
investments in telecommunications and in infrastructure off the ground.
  Ms. Mallory's expertise will be critical to the task that lies ahead. 
In addition to restoring balance at CEQ and its mission, the next Chair 
at CEQ will address a number of pressing crises facing our Nation 
today. Let me mention some of them. They include the ongoing COVID-19 
pandemic, and they include the worst economy since the Great 
Depression, as well as the enduring problem and challenge of racial 
injustice. All three--all three of these crises are compounded by a 
fourth, and that is the climate crisis.
  We have no time to waste. We must tackle the climate crisis with 
conviction and with urgency. My home State of Delaware, which I am 
privileged to represent, certainly cannot wait any longer. We happen to 
be the lowest lying State in America. Our State is sinking, and the 
seas around us are rising.
  This is felt by other States across the country too. Climate change 
is an issue that hits red States and blue States alike. Our colleagues 
John Neely Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, from Louisiana, tell me that 
Louisiana loses--get this--a football field of wetlands to rising sea 
levels every 100 minutes.
  Let me mention that again. Louisiana loses a football field of 
wetlands to rising sea levels every 100 minutes. In another part of the 
country, the midwestern part of the country, last year, hurricane-force 
winds flattened over half--over half of the corn and soybean crop in 
Iowa, literally in the span of about a week, maybe even in a span of 
about a day.
  Out on the west coast, wildfires raged across California as big as 
the size of Rhode Island, while floods in Florida damaged homes, and 
roads and deadly ice storms a month or two ago left millions in Texas 
stranded without power or water.
  Natural disasters and extreme weather don't discriminate; they impact 
all of us. Brenda Mallory knows this. She understands the gravity of 
the situation and the immense challenge she has ahead of her, should 
she be confirmed. I know she is ready to seize the opportunity ahead of 
her in this role.
  She also knows that the laws we write and decisions we make can 
affect who faces the brunt of the consequences. For too long, 
communities of color have disproportionately suffered from our 
environmental policies. From chemical contaminants in drinking water to 
toxic air pollution from our roads and our factories, our most 
marginalized citizens are too often exposed to environmental public 
health risks and left behind by our investments and policies.
  We need to work to improve environmental outcomes for all Americans--
all Americans. Brenda Mallory at the helm of CEQ can play the 
leadership role that is needed in addressing environmental justice and 
meeting the challenges of climate change in a way that will lift up all 
communities and achieve a brighter, more equitable future for each one 
of them.
  As we address the crises we face, we have an opportunity to improve 
people's lives today and for future generations. To do that, we need 
principled, enlightened leaders. We need leaders who are humble, not 
haughty; leaders who have the heart of a servant and understand that 
their job is to serve, not be served; leaders who unite, not divide; 
leaders who build bridges, not walls.

  I am confident that Brenda Mallory is just that kind of leader. She 
will bring integrity. She will bring honor and humility to her role 
just as she has done in her decades of service to this country. As 
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, she will be a leader who 
brings people together to form lasting solutions to the challenges that 
we face today.
  With that in mind, I strongly urge each of our colleagues to join me 
in supporting her confirmation. I thank again those who voted for 
cloture a few minutes ago.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee