[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2209-S2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Janet Garvin McCabe

  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, the Senate has invoked cloture, and I 
just want to thank everybody who supported cloture on Janet McCabe's 
nomination to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency.
  I rise now to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of this 
outstanding nominee, because Janet McCabe is exactly the leader that 
Administrator Michael Regan and the rest of the EPA need right now as 
we tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the Agency and in our 
Nation's history.
  She will do so as one who understands the challenges and 
opportunities of working as a director of an air program, within a 
State environmental agency, to create a safe, healthy, and nurturing 
environment--not just for the citizens of some communities but for all 
communities and all ZIP Codes in Indiana, but also for the industry 
throughout her State.
  I stand before you today, as my colleagues sometimes call me, as a 
recovering Governor. I understand how difficult it can be to bring a 
genuine interest to hear all points of view, to a job where Agency 
actions have consequences in every home and in every business. Perhaps 
Janet McCabe's colleague, Fred Cate, vice president of research at the 
University of Indiana put it best in an interview in the IndyStar 
recently. I just want to quote him. This is what he said:

       ``The reason she will be great at EPA is the same reason 
     she was superb here''. . . . ``It's her ability to get people 
     behind a common vision and get them to do things and not just 
     talk about them.''

  Janet McCabe is a steady hand who has built a 30-year career of 
leadership in environmental protection. Her dedication and her know-how 
will be invaluable in protecting clean air and clean water, addressing 
the climate crisis, and realizing environmental justice for the most 
vulnerable among us.
  So it is no surprise that she has garnered support from 48 leading 
environmental organizations. At the same time, anyone who has worked 
with Ms. McCabe knows that she is a hard-working, pragmatic Hoosier to 
the core. She works well with Democrats. She works well with 
Republicans and with Independents. And that is why she has the public 
support of nine former EPA Deputy Administrators and Acting 
Administrators, including four Republican former EPA Deputy 
Administrators who served in the Reagan administration and who served 
in the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush and who served in 
the George W. Bush administration.
  Her professional experience includes service in both Federal and 
State government, and that includes impressive tenures in both Indiana 
and Massachusetts government agencies, as well as years of leadership 
experience at EPA.
  Based on that experience, Ms. McCabe knows that in order for any 
Federal Agency to be successful, its leaders must work closely and 
collaboratively with State and local partners, no matter which party is 
in charge.
  Her pragmatic and inclusive style has also inspired support of the 
electric power industry. The Edison Electric Institute, which 
represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, enthusiastically 
supports Janet McCabe's nomination. This is an organization--listen to 
this--that speaks for companies that provide power to 220 million 
Americans. That is right--roughly two-thirds of all Americans.
  Let me put it another way. Edison Electric Institute's members 
generate electricity for two-thirds of all Americans, and they have 
thrown their support behind the nomination of Janet McCabe for this 
post.
  According to EEI president Tom Kuhn, he says Janet McCabe ``has a 
strong commitment to public service and a solid track record of 
engaging with diverse stakeholders, including industry, as demonstrated 
by her time at the helm of both the Air Program at the Indiana 
Department of Environmental Management and EPA's Office of Air and 
Radiation.''
  That is a quote.
  Ms. McCabe has their support because she has demonstrated time and 
again that environmental and economic progress go hand in hand. Let me 
say that again. She demonstrated time and again that cleaner air, clean 
water, environmental progress, and economic progress go hand in hand. 
They are inextricably linked. That ethic has earned Ms. McCabe the 
support of the American Chemistry Council, the Association of Equipment 
Manufacturers, and the BlueGreen Alliance, which represents some of our 
largest labor unions.
  Ms. McCabe knows that while working to protect clean air and clean 
water and address climate change, the Agency must seize the opportunity 
to protect and create good-paying jobs across our country. She 
understands that the environmental and climate challenges we face are 
not just a problem. They offer economic and competitive opportunity.

  President Biden's American Jobs Plan embraces these principles, and 
Janet McCabe has the experience and she has the intelligence to work 
with her Agency colleagues to translate them into action at EPA. 
President Biden's American Jobs Plan embraces these principles, and 
Janet McCabe has the experience and the intelligence to work with her 
Agency colleagues to translate them into action at EPA.
  The Association of Equipment Manufacturers put it very well when they 
wrote last month, and this is their quote:

       Ms. McCabe will bring the leadership and collaborative 
     spirit needed to address difficult environmental challenges 
     and improve regulatory processes, and ensure we can continue 
     to build, power, and feed our country in an innovative and 
     sustainable way.

  Ms. McCabe will help ensure that everyone--everyone who has a stake 
in our environment and our economy--has a seat at the table. She has 
built a reputation of listening to everyone--everyone--addressing real 
economic concerns, making sure government policy helps people and 
communities at the local level.
  Ms. McCabe embodies these values in her current role as director of 
Indiana University's Resilience Institute, where she works every day to 
help mayors and to help farmers and communities of all sizes and shapes 
prepare for and adapt to climate change.
  I will borrow once again from Janet McCabe's colleague from the 
University of Indiana, Fred Cate, who said of her career success, and I 
quote him again:

       ``She understands that at the end of the day, if you don't 
     bring along finance and industry and local buy-in, then we 
     won't get things done.''

  I couldn't have said it better.
  As Deputy Administrator, Janet's role will be the equivalent of a 
chief operating officer. She will be primarily focused on EPA internal 
policies and procedures--the day-to-day running of the Agency--and will 
not play a significant role in crafting new public policies.
  One of her key tasks will be to restore the Agency's organizational 
health, which suffered during the previous administration, as respect 
for science and career staff advice declined and morale deteriorated. 
There is no person better suited to overseeing this internal 
restoration than Janet McCabe. Under her leadership I have every 
confidence that EPA will recover and soar.
  I am very grateful that Janet has agreed to serve her country again 
in this new leadership role, and I am grateful to her family for their 
willingness to share her again with all of us.

[[Page S2210]]

Her personal integrity and work ethic is an inspiration to all public 
servants, and her willingness to engage all points of view is a boon to 
all who have strong interest in EPA's work.
  So in closing, I want to urge my colleagues--all of our colleagues--
to vote to confirm her today so that she can put her robust talents to 
work for all the American people.
  With that, I yield the floor.