U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

36–116 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019

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BUSINESS MEETINGS 

MEETINGS 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST AND SECOND SESSIONS 

JUNE 15, 2017; DECEMBER 13, 2017; FEBRUARY 7, 2018 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 

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COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

ROGER WICKER, Mississippi 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, 

Ranking Member 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

KAMALA HARRIS, California 

RICHARD M. RUSSELL, Majority Staff Director 

GABRIELLE BATKIN, Minority Staff Director 

COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman 

JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

ROGER WICKER, Mississippi 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, 

Ranking Member 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland 

RICHARD M. RUSSELL, Majority Staff Director 

GABRIELLE BATKIN, Minority Staff Director 

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C O N T E N T S 

Page 

JUNE 15, 2017 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming .......................... 1 

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ................... 2 

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS 

Presidential Nomination 561. Nomination of Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, 

to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the term of 

five years expiring June 30, 2022. (Reappointment) From President Donald 

J. Trump, received June 6, 2017 ......................................................................... 5 

Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 561, referring 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the nomination of 

Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission for the term of five years expiring June 30, 2022. (Reappointment) Signed June 15, 2017 ................................................................................ 6 

DECEMBER 13, 2017 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming .......................... 7 

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ................... 7 

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS 

Presidential Nomination 1079. Nomination of R. D. James, of Missouri, to 

be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, vice Jo-Ellen Darcy, from President 

Donald J. Trump. Dated October 5, 2017 .......................................................... 9 

Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 1079, referring 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the nomination of 

R. D. James, of Missouri, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, vice 

Jo-Ellen Darcy. Signed December 13, 2017 ....................................................... 10 

FEBRUARY 7, 2018 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming .......................... 11 

Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware ................... 12 

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS 

Presidential Nomination 1426. Nomination of Andrew Wheeler, of Virginia, 

to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice 

Robert Perciasepe, resigned. From President Donald J. Trump, received 

January 8, 2018 .................................................................................................... 20 

Nomination Reference and Report, Presidential Nomination 1426, referring 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works the nomination of 

Andrew Wheeler, of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vice Robert Perciasepe, resigned. Signed February 7, 2018 ........................................................................................................ 21 

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BUSINESS MEETING 

THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m. in room 

406, Dirksen Senate Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman of 

the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito, Boozman, 

Wicker, Fischer, Rounds, Ernst, Shelby, Moran, Cardin, and Booker. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Good morning. I call this business meeting to 

order. 

I thank everyone for coming today. We are here to consider the 

nomination of Kristine Svinicki to be reappointed as a member of 

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Senator Carper and I will 

give our opening statements; after that other members may make 

remarks until we have a reporting quorum. We are very close to 

that right now. Then we are going to proceed to that one item on 

the agenda. 

As soon as we get the reporting quorum, we will have the vote. 

Then I will wait and let every other member make a statement, if 

they would like. 

I applaud the President’s nomination of Ms. Svinicki. She has 

served as a member of the NRC for more than 9 years, including 

the last 6 months as Chair. The members of the Environment and 

Public Works Committee know her well. She has testified before 

this Committee 18 times, three times as a nominee. In every appearance before us as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, she has proven herself to be a well qualified, experienced, 

and dedicated public servant. 

Twice before, members of this Committee and the full Senate 

have agreed. When Ms. Svinicki was first nominated to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this Committee reported her by voice vote in 2007. The Senate confirmed her by voice 

vote as well. She was renominated for a second term, reported by 

voice vote in 2012, confirmed as well by the Senate. 

President Trump has designated Ms. Svinicki as Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 2017. Before joining the 

NRC she built a distinguished career in public service; various staff 

positions in the Senate, as a nuclear engineer at the Department 

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of Energy, and as an energy engineer for the Wisconsin Public 

Service Commission. 

I am going to ask that the remainder of my statement go into 

the record, because I do think we have a reporting quorum at this 

time. 

And I will turn to Senator Carper. 

[The referenced information was not received at time of print.] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE 

Senator CARPER. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. 

I am going to ask unanimous consent that my statement be submitted for the record, and just say a couple things if I could. 

I just want to say how proud I am to serve on this Committee, 

and how proud I am to serve with our Chairman and each one of 

you. We have a lot of new members of this Committee. I think the 

new members bring a lot to the Committee, and we are happy you 

are with us. 

Former Chairman Inhofe and I had focused a lot of the time that 

we have been in the Senate on all things nuclear, and continue to. 

He provided great leadership of the Subcommittee for a number of 

years, along with George Voinovich. I attempted to do that as well. 

And it is important, it is important work; part of our responsibility 

to this Committee. 

We have had some real turbulence in recent years with respect 

to the NRC. There were times when those folks were before us, and 

I had never seen five more unhappy people in my life. We had 

these very contentious, difficult hearings. I am sure Jim Inhofe remembers those. Those days are behind us, and we seem to have a 

Commission that seems to be working well together, in a collegial 

and productive way. So that is good. 

Kristine has been a member of the Commission for a number of 

years. The members obviously know when she worked on the floor 

as a member of our staff, and we have a high regard for her. I am 

pleased that I think we are going to get her confirmed out of the 

Committee. I certainly support doing so. 

There are a couple of other nominees that are before us, with 

her, two other Republicans, so we are considering three—not today, 

but three Republicans that are sort of like packaged together. And 

we have two Democrats, one whose term expires next year. I have 

talked to the Chairman about somehow pairing these two additional Republicans that have been nominated by this President, to 

pair them with one of the Democrats whose term expires next year. 

That would give us a situation that, if we could get them all 

done, I hope we could get them done quickly, that we would have 

three Republicans and two Democrats to continue to serve on the 

Commission. So I hope could move in that direction, but today I 

hope we will report out Kristine Svinicki. 

The other thing I want to say, the Democratic Ranking Members 

are raising in Committee hearings and mark ups this week our 

concern about moving forward as a body with respect to health 

care. I am not going to belabor it, but I do want to say this, if I 

could. 

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As some of you know, I start my day in the gym in the morning. 

I know the Colonel over here, and I sometimes run. He could run 

me into the ground; he could have this morning. It was brutal out 

there. I like to run down to the Lincoln Memorial. I don’t know if 

you have had a chance to go down there lately, but engraved up 

on the walls around President Lincoln’s statue are some of his most 

famous speeches, like the Second Inaugural address is there; the 

Gettysburg address is there. 

Sort of coming on the heels of yesterday a new tragedy was visited on our colleagues in the House. Thank God for the Capitol Police. Everyone I have seen since then has shaken their hands and 

thanked them. I hope you are doing that as well. I think we all just 

got a wake up call that life is dear, and not something to take for 

granted. 

The other thing is, for me at least, is a reminder that we need 

to work together. People want us to work together, not just on this 

nomination today, not just on health care. They want us to work 

together. 

I am going to try to do a better job of doing that. I think we all 

could. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Carper follows:] 

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m pleased to support the re-nomination of Chairman 

Svinicki to continue to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Since joining the Environment and Public Works Committee, I have worked closely with my colleagues to strengthen the ‘‘culture of safety’’ within the U.S. nuclear 

energy industry. 

Due, in part, to our collective efforts, and to the efforts of NRC leadership and 

the Commission’s dedicated staff, the NRC continues to be the world’s gold standard 

for nuclear regulatory agencies. 

However, as I’ve said time and time again, that does not mean we can become 

complacent about nuclear safety and our NRC oversight responsibilities. I’m certain 

every member of this Committee shares that perspective. 

Ensuring the NRC continues to have experienced and dedicated leadership on the 

Commission is one of the most important things this Committee can do to ensure 

a high level of safety and excellence at our Nation’s nuclear facilities. 

I have been consistently impressed with the current Commission at the NRC and 

its members’ ability to work well with each other. Each commissioner brings a 

unique set of skills to the table, and that certainly includes our Chairman, Kristine 

Svinicki. That diverse skill set has served the Commission—and our country—well. 

Mr. Chairman, you and I have talked before about having parity with the NRC 

nominees, which continues to be a priority for me, but I support moving Chairman 

Svinicki through the confirmation process at this time out of respect for her long 

time service on the NRC and because of the need to provide certainty and predictability with respect to the leadership of the NRC going forward. 

If Chairman Svinicki is reconfirmed, she will be responsible for leading the NRC 

in its mission to protect the health and safety of the American people by ensuring 

our Nation’s fleet of nuclear reactors operates efficiently and safely. 

While on the topic of health, I want to express my growing concern that there 

is an effort underway to write a health care bill that only involves a handful of Senators, all of the same party. The legislation is being drafted behind closed doors, and 

despite not yet having a single hearing to review it, there is talk of quickly moving 

the bill to the floor. 

I know that we all share the desire to make health care accessible and affordable 

for every American. In that spirit, I ask my Republican colleagues to join with us 

Democrats so we can work together on a health care bill. Something this important 

should be done on a bipartisan basis. 

After the horrific events of yesterday morning, I think we’re all a bit more reverent today. I think the idea that we’re Americans first and members of political 

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parties second is fresher on our minds. And while this Committee doesn’t have jurisdiction over health care, I hope all of us here will summon our better angels and 

step away from our respective party corners. 

The public has a right to participate in this process. Let’s remove the shroud of 

secrecy, and instead, come together to present the American people with a law that 

preserves the parts of the Affordable Care Act that should be preserved and fixes 

those that should be fixed so that we can truly make high quality health care more 

affordable for one and all. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you very much, Senator Carper. I 

enjoy working with you and look forward to continuing to work 

with you in a bipartisan way. I appreciate your help in expediting 

this nomination today. 

We have agreed—the Ranking Member and I have agreed that 

this will be a voice vote, but members may choose to have the vote 

recorded on the nomination. So we will have that opportunity in a 

few seconds. 

We do have a quorum. I would like to call up nomination number 

561, Kristine Svinicki of Virginia, to be a member of the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission for the term of 5 years, expiring June 30th, 

2022, a reappointment. I move to approve and report the nomination favorably to the Senate. 

Is there a second? 

Senator CARPER. I second. 

Senator BARRASSO. All in favor, please say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Senator BARRASSO. All opposed, no. 

[No audible response.] 

Senator BARRASSO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. 

We have approved the nomination of Ms. Svinicki to be a member 

of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will be reported to 

the full Senate for approval. 

The voting part of our business meeting is finished, but I am 

happy to recognize any member who wishes to make a statement 

on the nomination that we have just approved. 

Senator Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. You are going to see an exodus here of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which I am going to. But I want 

to echo your words, both of you, in praise for Ms. Svinicki. She has 

been excellent. I made that expression at our last meeting, and I 

am very glad to have her back. 

Senator BARRASSO. Would anyone else like to make a statement? 

Hearing none, the business meeting is concluded and adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:10 a.m., the business meeting was concluded.] 

[Additional material submitted for the record follows:] 

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BUSINESS MEETING 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2017 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:54 a.m. in room 

406, Dirksen Senate Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman of 

the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Barrasso, Inhofe, Capito, Boozman, Fischer, 

Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan, Carper, Merkley, Gillibrand, Booker, and 

Harris. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Good morning. 

I call this business meeting to order. 

Some members have to leave in the next couple of minutes to get 

to votes in the Commerce Committee, so I am going to call the 

business meeting to order and thank all of you for coming on time. 

We are here to consider the nomination of R. D. James of Missouri to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. 

After we vote, we will then conclude our business meeting and turn 

to our hearing focused on oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

As the Committee heard last week, R. D. James is well qualified 

to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. He 

will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to this critically important role in addressing our Nation’s infrastructure needs. 

I applaud the President’s nomination of such an accomplished 

American and dedicated public servant. I urge all my colleagues to 

vote yes on Mr. James’ nomination. 

At this time, I would like now to turn to the Ranking Member 

for his statement. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE 

Senator CARPER. I would just say that R. D. James will be confirmed over my dead body. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator CARPER. I said to him after the hearing, ‘‘R. D., you are 

going to be traveling a lot,’’ because I think he has met with all 

of us, and he said to each of us, ‘‘I’ll come to your State.’’ I said, 

just make sure you get credit for the frequent flyer miles you are 

going to be piling up because there are going to be a lot of them. 

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I think we are lucky with somebody as experienced as he is. 

Frankly, he is just a delight. I said to some of you, he reminded 

me of Sonny Perdue, a young Sonny Perdue. I am happy he is willing to do this; happy that his wife—Jenny, I think is her name— 

is willing to share him; and send his nomination to the full Senate. 

Thank you. 

I have a greater, a fuller statement that indicates I do not plan 

to block his nomination over my dead body. 

[The referenced information was not received at time of print.] 

Senator BARRASSO. That will be included in the record. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you. 

Senator BARRASSO. Now that enough members have arrived, I 

would like to move to a vote on the one item on today’s agenda. 

The Ranking Member and I have agreed to vote on the nominee 

by voice vote, but any member may choose to have his or her votes 

recorded after the voice vote. 

I would like to call up Presidential Nomination 1079, R. D. 

James of Missouri to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for 

Civil Works. 

I move to approve and to report the nomination favorably to the 

Senate. 

Is there a second? 

Senator CARPER. Second. 

Senator INHOFE. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. All those in favor, say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Senator BARRASSO. Opposed, nay. 

[No audible response.] 

Senator BARRASSO. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. 

We have approved the nomination of Mr. James to be Assistant 

Secretary of the Army for Civil Works which will be reported to the 

full Senate for approval. 

The voting part of the business meeting is concluded. Any member who wishes to submit a statement for the record regarding the 

nomination may do so. 

With that, our business meeting is concluded. 

[Whereupon, at 9:58 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other 

business.] 

[Additional material submitted for the record follows:] 

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BUSINESS MEETING 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:40 a.m. in room 

406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Barrasso (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. 

Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Inhofe, Capito, Boozman, 

Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Rounds, Ernst, Sullivan, Shelby, Merkley, 

Gillibrand, Booker, and Duckworth. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Good morning. Thank you for coming. 

We are here to consider the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be 

the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

the EPA. This Committee voted to report Mr. Wheeler to the full 

Senate only 2 months ago. His nomination was returned to President Trump on January 3rd, and on January 8th President Trump 

renominated Mr. Wheeler. 

So we consider his renomination today. We will follow the same 

process that we implemented last November 29th, when we voted 

to report his original nomination. To that end, we will be voting at 

roughly 9:50 to accommodate members’ schedules and allow us to 

begin our hearing scheduled at 10 a.m. 

So before we vote at 9:50, we will discuss Mr. Wheeler’s nomination. The majority will have 10 minutes, beginning with my opening statement. The minority will have 10 minutes to speak, beginning with the Ranking Member’s opening statement. 

I will make a few brief remarks then reserve the balance of the 

majority’s time to make additional comments. I know Senator 

Inhofe would like to make a comment as well. The Ranking Member may then recognize those members of the minority wishing to 

speak during the minority’s time. 

After each side has used its time we will move to vote as soon 

as a quorum is present. Once we conclude our business meeting, 

we will proceed to our hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 10. 

We can start the clock on our time. 

I would just say that we are here to vote on the nomination of 

Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of EPA. He has 

worked in the environmental field for over 25 years. He spent 12 

of those years serving this Committee’s Clean Air Subcommittee as 

the staff director, as Republican staff director and general counsel. 

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He has proven himself to be a well qualified, experienced, and dedicated public servant. 

We all know that Mr. Wheeler will make an invaluable contribution to the protection of America’s public health and safety as Deputy Administrator of the EPA. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on 

Mr. Wheeler’s nomination. 

I reserve the majority of my time. 

Senator Carper. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE 

Senator CARPER. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. 

Last week EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appeared before our 

Committee. I told him that it would be difficult—at the conclusion 

of the Committee hearing, I mentioned to him that it would be difficult to move forward with additional EPA nominees until the 

nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White was withdrawn. I am 

pleased that the Administration heeded our words and responded 

to our concerns and those of other Senators. I hope that the White 

House will name a qualified nominee to run the Council on Environmental Quality. 

Former Governor, worked with 49 other Governors across this 

country, I know that every Governor in this country has a secretary, we have in Delaware the Department of Natural Resources 

and Environmental Control, every State has a similar kind of department within their State government structure. There are over 

30 Republican Governors in the country right now. They each have 

a secretary whose expertise and whose responsibilities are in line 

with those of this Committee. They provide a good pool from which 

this Administration can draw excellent talent. It is imperative that 

they use that pool to do so. 

Today this Committee will vote for the second time on the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of EPA. As 

a staff member on this Committee for Senator Voinovich and Senator Inhofe, Mr. Wheeler was not someone with whom we agreed 

on each and every policy. However, Mr. Wheeler did prove to be 

someone with whom we could work on policies on which we did 

agree, like the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, which George Voinovich and I initially introduced and which Jim Inhofe has been a 

champion of for many years since George left us. 

I would also note that Mr. Wheeler’s responses during and after 

last year’s hearing on his nomination were for the most part encouraging. But I would like to take a moment to discuss what I believe may be some concerns associated with both Mr. Wheeler and 

the EPA, and to note that I very much hope these concerns could 

be addressed in a manner that would allow the full Senate to consider his nomination soon. 

Recently the public got a chance to read the so called Murray Action Plan, a list of policy proposals submitted to President Trump 

and other Trump administration officials by Mr. Wheeler’s former 

client, Bob Murray. The Murray Action Plan includes any number 

of measures that EPA has already started to implement, like repeals of the Clean Power Plan and the Clean Water Rule and the 

13 

dissemination of EPA’s career work force. Decimation, the decimation of EPA’s career work force. 

The document also calls for some measures that EPA has not yet 

acted upon. For example, Mr. Murray has called for repeal of the 

Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, rules that limit dangerous pollutions from power plants, even though industry is already complying 

with those rules. Mr. Murray also calls for a re-evaluation of climate change science and the repeal of EPA’s so called 

Endangerment Finding, the conclusions that both the Bush and 

Obama administrations reached that found global warming pollution from cars and SUVs was dangerous. 

I personally met with Mr. Wheeler twice since his nomination. I 

have asked him directly whether he was involved in writing Mr. 

Murray’s proposals. He assured me that he was not. He told me 

that one of Murray Energy’s priority issues that he has worked on, 

however, was securing health and other benefits for retired miners. 

He also assured me that he views EPA’s legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which is based on the 

Endangerment Finding as settled law. I have no reason to doubt 

Mr. Wheeler’s assurances that at least on the question of the 

Endangerment Finding he holds a view that is different a distinct 

from Mr. Murray’s. 

However, I am sure that I speak not just for myself when I say 

that I do not feel similarly assured by Mr. Pruitt. The Trump 

White House has said that it wants EPA and the Transportation 

Department to negotiate what I like to call a win-win on CAFE and 

tailpipe standards with California. That means that the Trump administration’s policies must be to leave the Endangerment Finding 

alone, because the Endangerment Finding is what gives EPA and 

California the authority to write the tailpipe greenhouse gas rules 

in the first place. 

But Administrator Pruitt has repeatedly refused to say this 

clearly. For example, in July he told Reuters that there might be 

a legal basis to overturn EPA’s Endangerment Finding decision. 

When I asked him just last week to commit not to overturn it for 

as long as he is Administrator, he refused to make that commitment. 

Similarly, when Senator Merkley was here to my left, Senator 

Merkley asked Administrator Pruitt to confirm the public reports 

to confirm the public reports that the White House officials have 

told Mr. Pruitt that he does not have their permission to move forward with his planned Red Team-Blue Team challenge to climate 

science. Mr. Pruitt called these reports untrue. 

And just yesterday the Administrator questioned whether warming temperatures were a bad thing in the first place. Administrator 

Pruitt did agree, however, in response to Senator Markey, that his 

preference was to work to find consensus with California on how 

to regulate greenhouse gas tailpipe standards for cars and SUVs. 

But reports indicate that serious technical negotiations with California have yet to begin. And any move to repeal or revise EPA’s 

Endangerment Finding would completely and immediately derail 

this entire effort. 

Last week, Administrator Pruitt was given the opportunity to say 

that he does not plan to do each and every thing that Mr. WheelVerDate Aug 31 2005 14:02 May 13, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\_EPW\DOCS\36116.TXT SONYA
14 

er’s former client, Bob Murray, asked the Trump administration to 

do. He was offered that opportunity. Unfortunately, he did not 

seize that opportunity. 

I believe that members of this Committee and members of the 

public deserve more clarity about whether the Trump administration will be guided by science and the law or by Mr. Murray’s demands. That lack of clarity is a large part of why I cannot yet support quickly moving forward with Mr. Wheeler’s nomination. I believe we all need to understand particularly, for the items on the 

Murray Action Plan list—like the Endangerment Finding, climate 

science, and the Mercury and Air Toxics Rule—whether this Administration will govern in a manner that will bring regulatory certainty to industry or whether it will accede to the wishes of Mr. 

Wheeler’s former client and throw our industry into disarray with 

litigation. 

In closing, let me just say this. I look forward to a continued dialogue with our colleagues in the Senate, with the Administration 

over our concerns in hope that we can address them as we work 

toward a possible time agreement for the consideration of Mr. 

Wheeler’s nomination. 

With that, we will reserve our time. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you very much, Senator Carper. 

Senator Merkley, anything that you would like to add to this 

nomination? 

Senator MERKLEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I am very concerned about the direction of the EPA in this Administration. We see the censorship of scientists; we see the denial 

of science; we see Web pages that help our communities adapt and 

prepare for climate change disappearing from the EPA Web site. 

We see Administrator Pruitt travel to foreign countries, promote 

pollution rather than promote environmental protection. We see secrecy in meetings and calls and travel schedules, a complete lack 

of transparency in serving the American people. This is not an 

agency that is trying its best to protect the health of our citizens, 

protect our drinking water, our air, and our public lands. 

When Administrator Pruitt was here last week I asked how 

many of his EPA’s 15 major air actions were supported by the 

American Lung Association or by the American Academy of Pediatrics. And he didn’t know, maybe because he hasn’t met with them, 

hasn’t talked to public health advocates, despite being in charge of 

environmental protection. 

I am afraid that the nominee before us will not help EPA right 

its course. He is another lobbyist for another industry. An Administration that promised to drain the swamp, but instead we see a revolving door of lobbyists and D.C. bureaucrats taking appointments 

in the Administration to new levels on issues directly related to 

their former clients. 

Plus, they have received waivers to allow them to proceed to 

avoid the ethics rules that bar former lobbyists from participating 

in any particular matter on which they lobbied in the past 2 years. 

This is the swamp; this does not serve the American people. And 

we should reject this nomination. 

15 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Gillibrand, anything you would like 

to add? 

Senator GILLIBRAND. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you. 

Senator Inhofe, any members on this side who would like to have 

time? 

Senator INHOFE. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I just hope that this isn’t 

part of the continuing effort of my good friends and colleagues on 

the other side to obstruct, block every single Trump administration 

nominee. I mean, the facts are, and I can give them to the press 

later if they ever want to report on this, but the unprecedented 

slowness with which we are seating people in the executive branch, 

it is unbelievable; it is remarkable. And yet it never gets reported 

on. I mean, the election is over. We need to start putting people 

in positions in the executive branch. And slowing, slow rolling, resisting, whatever you call it, in a way unprecedented, never been 

done before, had Republicans done this during the first year of the 

Obama administration, the New York Times would have front page 

articles every single day. 

So I certainly hope that we can finally start moving people who 

are qualified, we don’t have these week long ‘‘debates’’ on people 

who then get 90 Senators to vote for them. It is outrageous. We 

have had railroad accidents recently. The head of the Federal Railroad Administration, the FRA, got voted out of the Commerce Committee unanimously. Nominated in August, and he is still sitting 

there. Why? Why? It is outrageous. 

And I hope we can finally start confirming people the way the 

American people want us to. Mr. Wheeler, I think, is well qualified. 

Some people might not like his background on certain issues. He 

was staff director on this Committee for a number of years. 

And I think with regard to the EPA Administrator, the one thing 

he is doing is promoting the rule of law, again. The last Administrator, Gina McCarthy, she ignored the rule of law every chance 

she could. The U.S. Supreme Court put a stay on her Clean Power 

Plan, first time in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court that they 

put a stay on a rule that had not gone to a court of appeals. Why? 

Because they probably almost certainly thought it was illegal. 

So I just hope we can start moving forward and getting people 

nominated. And this idea of delaying every single nomination, 

every single one, and my colleagues on the other side know they 

are doing it. Unfortunately, the press won’t call them out on it. Unprecedented. And it is time we start getting people in the executive 

branch. It doesn’t help that we delay every single Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary. I just hope that this resistance and delay 

and blockades of well qualified people is finally, finally going to 

end. 

And my colleagues on the other side know, and I have talked to 

a lot of them, a lot of them don’t even agree with it. But certain 

elements of their party are requiring that every single nomination 

to the executive branch, regardless of how qualified, regardless of 

the fact that they are going to get a 95 to 4 vote in the Senate 

16 

eventually, they get delayed. And I certainly hope this isn’t part of 

that delay. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator CARPER. Can I just respond? 

Senator BARRASSO. Yes. 

Senator CARPER. To our friend and colleague from Alaska—— 

Senator BARRASSO. Start the clock on the minority side. 

Senator CARPER. Let me just say, to my friend from Alaska, let 

me just remind you, unlike Alaska, I live in a State where 90 percent of our pollution comes from places outside of our State. I live 

in a State—we are the lowest lying State in America. We see every 

day the vestiges of sea level rise. And I am sitting here, in order 

to work with all of you, but also to represent the interests of my 

State and our part of the country. We are deeply concerned. 

I think you know me well enough to know I am not one who is 

interested in just blocking nominations for the sake of blocking 

nominations. I think, to the Senator from Alaska, I have also spent 

some time in the military. They have something in naval aviation 

called refusal speed. And it is when you bring your airplane out on 

the taxiway to the end of the runway to go through your checklist 

and prepare to take off. You get cleared for takeoff, and the airplane moves down the runway. You finally reach a speed where 

you can either push forward on the throttle and take off or you can 

pull back on the throttle and stay on the ground. 

I use that analogy, I think we are at something like refusal speed 

in this Committee. And we have already moved forward, and my 

colleague may not recall, but confirming the nominations of Susan 

Bodine, Matt Leopold, David Ross, I think we can make further 

progress, and I hope today’s meeting will help lead to that. 

I was pretty specific in mentioning three or four things that are 

especially important to us to be able to move forward in a more expeditious manner. And I just hope that you will take that in good 

faith, and let’s work together. We spent much of last year not 

working together, really battling each other. I think there is a 

chance to work this year on a more positive basis. I think it has 

already begun, but I think it could be continued here today. 

Thank you. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Mr. Chairman, may I respond must briefly? 

Senator INHOFE. Go ahead. 

Senator BARRASSO. Briefly, Senator Sullivan. Then Senator 

Inhofe. 

Senator SULLIVAN. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle know 

me, I don’t normally get frustrated like this. But I think my friend 

from Delaware would acknowledge that on the broader issue of 

moving nominees forward once they get out of committee on the 

floor there has been unprecedented delay and obstruction. I am just 

asking my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to cease and 

start getting these people in their positions. 

Thank you. 

Senator CARPER. I would just say in response, in the words of 

Harry Truman, the only thing new in the world is the history we 

forgot or never learned. Don’t forget that. I think there is some 

blame to go around for both sides. 

Thank you. 

17 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Inhofe, and we now do have a 

quorum, members have arrived, and we have the quorum. If you 

want to? 

Senator INHOFE. No, I can wait. 

Senator BARRASSO. No, go ahead. 

Senator INHOFE. Well, it is kind of interesting that the person 

that we are talking about right now is Andrew Wheeler. It is not 

Scott Pruitt. You guys beat him up for 2 and a half hours last 

week, unmercifully, and now you want to continue doing that 

again. I think it is probably because you can’t really find anything 

wrong with the individual who is here. Yet to answer to your observation, I say to my friend from Alaska is, they are disciplined, we 

are not. Just wait and see how this vote turns out. They are all 

going to vote against him. That is the deal they made. Let’s go. 

Senator BARRASSO. Now the time is expired. I would like to move 

to a vote on the one item on today’s agenda. 

The Ranking Member has requested that the nominee for the 

Deputy Administrator of the EPA receive a roll call vote. I would 

now like to call up Presidential Nomination 1426, Andrew Wheeler 

of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. I move to approve and report the nomination favorably to the Senate. 

Is there a second? 

Senator INHOFE. Second. 

Senator BARRASSO. The Clerk will call the roll. 

The CLERK. Mr. Booker. 

Senator BOOKER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Boozman. 

Senator BOOZMAN. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Capito. 

Senator CAPITO. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Cardin. 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Carper. 

Senator CARPER. No. 

The CLERK. Ms. Duckworth. 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Ernst. 

Senator ERNST. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Fischer. 

Senator FISCHER. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Gillibrand. 

Senator GILLIBRAND. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Inhofe. 

Senator INHOFE. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Markey. 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Merkley. 

Senator MERKLEY. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Moran. 

Senator MORAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rounds. 

Senator ROUNDS. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sanders. 

18 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Shelby. 

Senator SHELBY. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Sullivan. 

Senator SULLIVAN. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Van Hollen. 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Whitehouse. 

Senator CARPER. No by proxy. 

The CLERK. Mr. Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chairman, then ayes are 11, the nays are 10. 

Senator BARRASSO. We have approved the nomination of Mr. 

Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, which will be reported to the full Senate for approval. 

Senator Inhofe, anything additional you would like to add? 

Senator INHOFE. No, I don’t think so. 

I would say, though, that Andrew Wheeler, he worked for me for 

14 years. You get to know a guy pretty well in 14 years. We passed 

more legislation together under his leadership, leading the Committee as well as my personal staff, than we have ever done before. 

He will do a good job, and I am glad that he is going to be confirmed. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Let me just mention the larger point that Senator Sullivan has made. It is well taken, we have a duly elected 

and constituted President of the United States. And he is entitled 

to put his team into place. And we have debated Mr. Wheeler 

today, and the difference of opinion about that. But there really can 

be no difference of opinion that we are experiencing an unprecedented delay in getting second and third tier appointees confirmed. 

We are getting dangerously to the point, really, where the members 

of the majority party are going to have make a decision about 

changing the rules. And people should just know that. Because this 

President is entitled to his team, and he has not been allowed to 

put his team in place. 

So a word to the wise should be sufficient. We are getting to critical mass on the delay, and it has to stop. 

Senator CARPER. Mr. Chairman, may I have 30 seconds? 

Senator BARRASSO. Yes. 

Senator CARPER. In response to my friend, I was privileged to 

serve for 8 years as Governor of Delaware. And for those 8 years 

I had the opportunity to nominate hundreds of people to serve in 

different capacities. I had the opportunity to nominate them, I 

didn’t have the opportunity to name them, to appoint them. A senate was involved. Usually they agreed; sometimes they didn’t. 

And part of our constitutional responsibility is to advise of concerns. Sometimes both sides maybe get carried away with that. But 

we have a path forward here, I think, on this nomination. I think 

maybe before you arrived I talked about that. I would be happy to 

19 

talk with you about it further. But there is a path forward. And 

I hope that we will seize this opportunity. 

Thank you. 

Senator BARRASSO. Senator Wicker. 

Senator WICKER. Nominees that get confirmed with 90 votes are 

being required to take the full 30 hours. That is the problem. And 

the unprecedented delay is something that this majority is going to 

have to deal with. Just be advised. 

Senator BARRASSO. With that, our business meeting is concluded 

and adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:02 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other 

business.] 

[Additional material submitted for the record follows:] 

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