Climate Change and the Environment

Huff Post Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) skewered Zinke in a series of posts to Twitter on Thursday, comparing him to the ousted EPA chief. “Pruitt was not the only Trump Cabinet member with terrible ethics problems, and Zinke’s issues also stem from ignoring ethics guidelines while empowering industry,” Beyer wrote. Click here to read the full article Read more »

The announcement by the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that it will open a formal investigation of Secretary Ryan Zinke’s real estate dealings with energy giant Halliburton represents the eleventh federal investigation into Zinke opened to date. Most of those investigations are for potential ethical violations. “Scott Pruitt clearly was not the… Read more »

Safe Climate Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) and Don Beyer (VA-08) released the statement below following the passage of H. Con. Res. 119, the anti-climate, Republican resolution denouncing a carbon tax: “In the same week research was released stating a carbon tax could be implemented without hurting the economy, Congressional Republicans decided to adopt a resolution… Read more »

Think Progress In a statement released following the announcement on Wednesday, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) linked Zinke’s behavior to that of former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt, who remains the subject of more than a dozen ongoing federal investigations. Beyer serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the Interior… Read more »

Think Progress The EPA OIG has previously expressed that a lack of funding is preventing the watchdog from investigating Pruitt’s scandals. An amendment proposed by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) would reduce the Department of Interior’s Office of the Secretary by $1 million and increase the EPA OIG budget by the same amount. Read the… Read more »

ABC News Environmental groups including the Sierra Club and some Democrats also expressed opposition to Wheeler. Rep. Don Beyer, D- Va., was a vocal critic and tweeted that "everyone who cares about environmental protection must remain vigilant." Click here to read the full article   Read more »

The Hill “Scott Pruitt’s self-dealing makes all swamp creatures blush. Throughout his tenure at the EPA he never missed an opportunity to exploit his public office for personal gain and the fact that Republicans looked the other way is shameful,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who introduced the proposed amendment along with Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Click here to read the… Read more »

CNN Virginia's Democratic Rep. Don Beyer said there is a "cognitive clash" between outgoingEnvironmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's religious words and his conduct in office. "I don't want to say his faith isn't real, but he's certainly not living up to the faith that he says he has," Beyer told CNN's Jim Acosta on "The Situation Room" on Thursday. Beyer… Read more »

Reps. Don Beyer and Ted Lieu today wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General to request an investigation into whether Scott Pruitt violated the Federal Records Act. The letter cited recent reports that Pruitt intentionally hid or falsified records of meetings and discussions with representatives of industries regulated by the EPA. The lawmakers wrote: “We write… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer issued the following statement today on the departure of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt: “Finally. Scott Pruitt was able to keep his position for so long -- despite astonishing megalomania and unethical behavior – only because of Donald Trump’s historic embrace of corruption. Pruitt acknowledged behavior in Congressional hearings and televised interviews that violated… Read more »