Title: A resolution expressing no confidence in the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and calling for the immediate resignation of the Administrator.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Calls for the immediate resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 473 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 473

  Expressing no confidence in the Administrator of the Environmental 
  Protection Agency and calling for the immediate resignation of the 
                             Administrator.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2018

 Mr. Udall (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Carper, Mr. Bennet, Mr. 
 Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Cortez Masto, 
 Mr. Durbin, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr. 
 Whitehouse, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Nelson, Mr. 
   Schumer, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
  Wyden, Ms. Smith, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Casey, Ms. Harris, Ms. Cantwell, 
Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Brown, Mr. Coons, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Warner, 
    Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Reed) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing no confidence in the Administrator of the Environmental 
  Protection Agency and calling for the immediate resignation of the 
                             Administrator.

Whereas the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in 
        this preamble as the ``Administrator'') is a key position in the 
        Executive Branch;
Whereas the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``Agency'') is to protect human health and the 
        environment;
Whereas the Agency is vested by law with the principal responsibility for 
        controlling and abating pollution in the areas of air, water, land, 
        hazardous waste, noise, radiation, and toxic substances;
Whereas Scott Pruitt, as Administrator, has misused taxpayer dollars by spending 
        those taxpayer dollars on excessive personal conveniences and 
        unnecessary office enhancements while dramatically cutting budgets and 
        staff for critically important enforcement, research, and implementation 
        activities;
Whereas, under Administrator Pruitt--

    (1) the Agency is hemorrhaging staff and experts needed to protect the 
health, safety, and livelihood of millions of people of the United States, 
with more than 700 employees of the Agency having left or been forced out 
of the Agency during his tenure as Administrator;

    (2) the Agency is seeking to shrink staff of the Agency by 3,200 
employees (or roughly 20 percent of the workforce of the Agency of about 
15,000), which would make it difficult to implement the mission of the 
Agency; and

    (3) top officials of the Agency have been granted permission to also 
work for private companies while employed by the Agency, creating major 
conflicts of interest with their positions at the Agency;

Whereas, by delaying the effective date of regulations, easing enforcement of 
        existing regulations, and delaying implementation of new regulations, 
        Administrator Pruitt is helping polluters at the expense of the health, 
        safety, and livelihood of millions of people of the United States;
Whereas Administrator Pruitt has failed to exercise the enforcement authorities 
        of the Agency, which are necessary to the fulfillment of the mission of 
        the Agency, and has hampered career officials and experts from 
        efficiently doing their jobs without political interference by issuing a 
        memorandum that required regional offices of the Agency to first seek 
        permission from Agency headquarters before--

    (1) investigating potential pollution violations;

    (2) requesting information from potential violators; or

    (3) requiring additional monitoring from companies suspected of 
violations;

Whereas Administrator Pruitt has continually overridden the recommendations of 
        the scientists of the Agency in order to provide relief to industry, 
        leaving in place the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides, and policies 
        that are directly impacting the health and well-being of millions of 
        people of the United States;
Whereas the Agency is expected to maintain and uphold unbiased scientific 
        credibility, but Administrator Pruitt--

    (1) has undertaken actions directly counter to the science-based 
mission of the Agency by working to undermine and censor science, 
scientists, and researchers;

    (2) has skewed the membership of all advisory committees of the Agency 
by removing and barring highly qualified, independent scientists from those 
advisory committees if the scientist has received grants from the Agency, 
while allowing individuals who receive funding from industry to serve on 
those advisory committees; and

    (3) is attempting to paralyze the ability of the Agency to set health-
based pollution standards by restricting the use of scientific research by 
the Agency unless that research complies with criteria that are 
intentionally nearly impossible to meet;

Whereas Administrator Pruitt--

    (1) has shielded his actions from the people of the United States, 
including by refusing to make his schedule public or provide justifications 
for his policy and rulemaking decisions, in a way not done by any previous 
Administrator; and

    (2) has claimed unprecedented exemptions on the few requests under 
section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom 
of Information Act''), from outside groups that the Agency has responded 
to, masking all but the most basic information about meetings, travel, and 
spending of Administrator Pruitt from the public;

Whereas Administrator Pruitt has lost the faith of the public through his 
        continued undermining of basic ethics, particularly the ethics of 
        impartiality (such as by renting a below-market priced room in a 
        condominium owned by an energy lobbyist with clients who had interests 
        that are regulated by the Agency), and is tarnishing the reputation of 
        serving in public office at the Agency; and
Whereas, for the reasons described in this preamble, Scott Pruitt, as 
        Administrator, has failed to faithfully discharge the functions of that 
        office: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) Scott Pruitt should resign immediately from his post as 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and
            (2) the President should appoint to the office of 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency an 
        individual who will be committed to the fulfillment of the 
        mission of the Environmental Protection Agency and who is able 
        to fully and faithfully discharge the public duties entrusted 
        to the office of the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency.
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