Climate Change and the Environment

U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) and U.S. Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), and Don Beyer (D-Va.) joined scientists, faith leaders, environmental advocates and the public to gather in support of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the nation’s most effective tool to safeguard wildlife facing extinction. The… Read more »

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its plan today to gut safeguards on methane and other pollutants from the fossil fuel industry. Safe Climate Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Don Beyer (VA-08) and Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) released the following statement in response:  “Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler confirmed that an EPA under his leadership will not miss a beat in… Read more »

Today the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report which found that over $3.5 million was spent on the personal security detail (PSD) of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, without justification. Rep. Beyer issued the following statement: “This IG report leaves no doubt that Scott Pruitt wasted huge amounts of taxpayer money… Read more »

The Hill |  “This IG report leaves no doubt that Scott Pruitt wasted huge amounts of taxpayer money on his own protection without justification,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “The Pruitt saga illustrates how sorely real oversight is needed as a check on the president, and how the GOP-led Congress has acted as a rubber stamp for the Trump administration’s worst excesses.” Click here… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) released the following statement after the Trump Administration released its proposal to gut the Clean Power Plan: “President Trump and Acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler teamed up with their friends in the fossil fuel industry to release a plan that would open the floodgates to more carbon pollution across the country. The Administration’s proposal is a betrayal of the… Read more »

Think Progress Along with an expected failure to send the coal industry on a long-term recovery, the ACE rule includes an acknowledgment that the plan would lead to up to 1,400 premature deaths annually. The Clean Power Plan, on the other hand, was projected to help fight climate change as well as protect human health. The Clean Power Plan would help avoid between 1,500 and 3,600… Read more »

The Hill Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.): "President Trump and Acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler teamed up with their friends in the fossil fuel industry to release a plan that would open the floodgates to more carbon pollution across the country." "The Administration's proposal is a betrayal of the public trust that fails to uphold the EPA's legal obligation under the Clean Air Act to protect… Read more »

Think Progress Using the USA Today op-ed as a guide, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) on Wednesday tweeted a list of reasons why Zinke believes wildfires have grown worse in the western United States. The list did not include climate change. “I’d rather hear from scientists about what causes wildfires, but he keeps censoring them,” Beyer said in response to Zinke’s op-ed. The… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed to roll back fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks: “In one of President Trump’s most significant efforts to undo Obama’s environmental legacy, he solidified his own: prioritize the wish list of big corporate polluters… Read more »

POLITICO House Democrats have asked the Office of Government Ethics to review acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler's meetings with companies that employed him as a lobbyist, Emily Holden reports. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and several colleagues sent a letter to the independent agency following reporting from E&E News that Wheeler met with at least three former… Read more »