WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and First Vice Chair Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) made the following statements today after President-elect Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Scott Pruitt’s actions as attorney general of Oklahoma have proven him to be a loyal lap dog for industry, and that alone should disqualify him from serving as EPA administrator,” Rep. Grijalva said. “EPA’s stated mission is to protect the public health of the American people, but it’s easy to see that their mission statement won’t mean much in the new administration. Elevating someone to national leadership who endangered people in his own state with unregulated fracking jeopardizes the public health at large, and will facilitate Republican efforts to unravel benchmark protections like the Clean Air and Water Acts and much more. While I’m sure this nomination will make Big Oil happy, the American people are right to be alarmed.”
“Working families deserve to know if their tap water is clean and if their air is safe. The future of our planet, and all who live here, depends on us reducing pollution and fighting climate change,” Rep. Ellison said. “We can’t have an EPA Administrator who denies climate change and is beholden to fossil fuel companies. Scott Pruitt has pledged to roll back environmental protections and go to bat for multibillion dollar oil and gas companies. Working people in the Midwest should be able to count on the good paying jobs that renewable energies will bring, and all of us deserve a planet we can live in. Mr. Pruitt is the wrong choice.”
“If the American people had any doubt over President-elect Donald Trump’s position on climate change, there should be none now,” said Rep. Pocan. “When we must combat climate change to protect our national security, economic livelihood and the health of our planet, it’s hard to think of a worse pick to head the EPA than Scott Pruitt. He has made a name for himself by leading the right-wing charge to dismantle President Obama’s efforts to counter climate change. Anyone who believes in our shared responsibility to leave this world cleaner than how we found it should oppose Pruitt’s nomination.”
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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