Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement on the confirmation hearing today of nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler:
“Andrew Wheeler has had his thumb, wrist, forearm, and elbow on the scale in favor of polluters – like the coal barons he lobbied for not long ago. Indeed, over and over again today he played fast and loose with facts to greenwash rule changes ripped directly from the industry’s wish list. Even when confronted with the EPA’s own data, Wheeler doubled down on false claims that his proposals would cut carbon pollution. He should just own it. Under this administration, America is dirtier, Americans are sicker, and we are moving headlong toward escalating harms from climate change. Elections have consequences, and an EPA where polluters call the shots is one of them.”
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