Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
On The Nomination Of Governor Mike Leavitt
To Be EPA Administrator
(Senator Leahy Voted “Aye”)
October 28, 2003

At the beginning of this Administration, many promises were made about a moderate approach to environmental policy.  Those promises have been broken.  Not only broken, but shattered.  Instead, for nearly three years, we have watched this Administration run roughshod over the environment.  They have catered to special interests in rolling back protections for clean water, clean air, toxic cleanups and public health.  The Administration has systematically built the worst environmental record in modern history, and the American people deserve accountability for what the Administration is doing to these protections for their air, water and land.

The consideration of this nomination has exposed the Administration’s environmental record for what it is.  Governor Leavitt and the Administration know that business as usual is not acceptable to many of us in the Senate and to the millions of Americans we represent.  We have laid down markers on a variety of issues that we will use to evaluate  the record that Governor Leavitt now will have the opportunity to build.

Not only are this Administration’s policy decisions on the environment troubling, but so are the tactics they have used to erode our environmental protections.  They have not shown the American people the respect they deserve.  Instead, we have seen a troubling pattern of arrogance and deception.  

Just last week, a report by GAO showed that EPA officials gave misinformation to the Senate Environment and Judiciary committees last year when they were pressed about the impact of their New Source Review policy on pending enforcement cases against corporate polluters.  Although the report clearly shows that officials were repeatedly told that the new policy would essentially give polluters a get-out-of-court-free card, the EPA official in charge of these changes testified that the new policy would have no impact on the cases.  At the time, this was hard to believe, and now we know that EPA officials themselves clearly knew that their claims were not true.

The public has the right to effective enforcement of our clean air and water laws, and the public also has the right to know what the EPA knows about policy changes that affect enforcement.  This is just one example of how, to this Administration, hiding the facts has become a convenient, routine and cynical public relations tactic.  There are many more I could talk about, such as the Vice President’s Energy Report documents, the impact of the “Clear Skies” proposal, or analysis of emission reductions from a court-ordered December mercury rule.

These tactics may show marketing savvy, but they amount to fraud when hiding the facts  endangers the health of the American people.  When EPA is making decisions that affect the health of every single American – Republican, Democrat or Independent – the least we should expect are honest answers.

Another marketing tactic that the Administration has used to keep the public in the dark is the pattern that its EPA officials have used of announcing environmental rollbacks on Fridays or near holidays, when they think the American people are not watching.

It is no coincidence that the White House has announced 42 environmental rollbacks on Fridays, and 29 around holidays.  When it comes to the Administration’s policies on the environment, every Friday seems to be Friday the 13^th. 

When President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator was intended to be an independent advocate, outside of the political pressures and interests of other departments, for our environment.

Unfortunately, this Administration has squelched the independence of the Administrator and of the Agency.  Recent memos that have come to light show that the White House is focused like a laser beam on getting polluters off the hook for breaking the law.  One example, the NSR changes, shows that the Administrator was more concerned with warning the Vice President about the political dangers of weakening the Clean Air Act rules than about the environmental dangers. 

Another just as troubling example of how the White House undercut EPA’s independence were the health warnings put out after the 9-11 attacks.  As our colleague from New York so rightly has pointed out, the White House Council on Environmental Quality had no business re-writing a public announcement from EPA on New York City’s air quality after the 9-11 attacks.  This should have been straightforward, independent information for New Yorkers who were suffering from all manner of physical, not to mention psychological, stresses after the destruction of the Twin Towers.  Instead, the White House removed public health precautions and inserted reassuring messages. 

Again, this move not only shows the Administration’s audacity to undercut the Agency at a time when the public is relying on EPA to provide critical public health information, but it also shows that even during this crisis, the Administration was willing to mislead the public.

The American people deserve forthright, honest answers when it comes to decisions that affect their health and their children’s future. 

And the American people, and those of us who represent them in the Congress, will be closely watching Governor Leavitt’s performance in office in the hope of seeing a dramatic reversal of this Administration’s abysmal record on the environment.

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