Climate Change and the Environment

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional investigative agency, determined that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt violated the Antideficiency Act by installing a $43,000 “soundproof privacy booth” without informing Congress: “Now that we know that Scott Pruitt’s secrecy extended to the point of breaking the law, the… Read more »

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to President Donald Trump and a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt expressing grave concerns about stunning new revelations they received this week from Kevin Chmielewski—a long-time supporter and… Read more »

It has been two weeks since the public began to find out just how badly EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been behaving. What we know about Pruitt’s actions keeps getting worse, but here’s a snapshot before the next stories break: Quid Pro Condo It has only been two weeks since we learned that Pruitt got a sweetheart deal on a condo from an energy lobbyist. Pruitt tried to justify… Read more »

Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and David Cicilline (D-RI) today led 64 House Democrats calling for the immediate dismissal of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. In a letter to President Donald Trump, the Representatives raised Pruitt’s unethical behavior, wasteful use of taxpayer money, and numerous actions which contravened the EPA’s mission. The Representatives wrote: “Pruitt worked out a… Read more »

The cloud of scandal surrounding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt continued to thicken in the week following the initial report that he got a special deal on his condo rent from an energy lobbyist, which apparently included free rent for his family. In response, calls from Members of Congress for Pruitt to resign are now bipartisan. Meanwhile a number of questions about Pruitt’s conduct in… Read more »

Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt asking him to personally answer several questions that have been raised about how he secured a special arrangement to rent a room in a Capitol Hill townhouse in 2017. According… Read more »

Today Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) seeking an immediate investigation into EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s questionable lease arrangement with an energy lobbyist. The Representatives wrote: “We are writing to request you investigate allegations that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt received… Read more »

Today, Congressional Safe Climate Caucus co-chairs Reps. Alan Lowenthal and Don Beyer released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency announced its decision to roll back the clean car standards:  “By rolling back these clean car standards, President Trump and Scott Pruitt have again proved that they will prioritize deregulation over all else. Not all in… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would roll back the clean car standards as scandals continued to pile up around Administrator Scott Pruitt:  “Scott Pruitt’s decision to weaken our clean car standards will hurt Americans’ health, economy, and environment, but it may well help the bottom lines of the… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today issued the following statement calling for the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt: “From the first Scott Pruitt has conducted himself terribly, without regard for environmental protection or public safety. He has given free rein to lobbyists and industry insiders to sabotage the EPA’s mission. He has endeavored to corrupt the… Read more »