{"id":18538,"date":"2018-04-25T08:59:52","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T13:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=18538"},"modified":"2018-04-26T09:04:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T14:04:59","slug":"86-questions-and-counting-for-scott-pruitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2018\/04\/25\/86-questions-and-counting-for-scott-pruitt\/","title":{"rendered":"86 Questions and Counting for Scott Pruitt"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elgie Holstein<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Spring has been EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt\u2019s season of scandal, with each day bringing fresh allegations of the EPA Administrator\u2019s reckless disregard for his boss\u2019s promises to \u201cdrain the swamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worse for the country, he has adopted a sense of entitlement, which appears to have long pre-dated his arrival in Washington.\u00a0 In so doing, he has broken laws, flouted ethics rules, ignored congressional intent and requests, and sought the trappings of power and prestige.<\/p>\n

A maelstrom of scandals throughout the first year of Pruitt\u2019s tenure surfaced questions regarding his first-class flights, a sweetheart condo deal from the wife of an energy lobbyist, unauthorized pay raises for close associates, his penchant for secrecy and love of perks, and the demotion of EPA employees who questioned his spending.<\/p>\n

Since then, another flood of stories has generated even more questions:\u00a0 An EPA inspector general report\u00a0showing that Pruitt didn\u2019t tell the truth when he said he knew nothing in advance about\u00a0 the raises. A\u00a0string of allegations\u00a0<\/a>by former deputy chief of staff Kevin Chmielewski.\u00a0 An\u00a0OMB investigation<\/a>\u00a0of his $43,000 phone booth (which the GAO says was illegally paid for, and which, in any case, was unneeded). A meeting with a lobbyist who co-owned the condo he rented.\u00a0 Questionable insider dealings during Pruitt\u2019s days in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

It is regrettable that each new story brings little surprise at how naturally Pruitt navigates and takes advantage of the swamp. But he has proven himself to be a man who shamelessly advances his own political ambitions and the desires of polluters at the expense of Americans who must watch a public official thumb his nose at ethical behavior while pursuing an agenda that makes our air, water, and land dirtier, and climate change worse.<\/p>\n

In all, we now count at least\u00a086 questions<\/a>\u00a0that need answering, with more seeming to emerge every day.\u00a0 As Pruitt prepares to face two Congressional committees Thursday, lawmakers are noticing the scandals unfolding before them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the allegations are true,\u201d notes Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX), \u201cthey are troubling, and we should expect higher of any person in public office.”<\/p>\n

Representative Flores is right\u2014we should expect better. We should also expect that an individual tasked to lead EPA will prioritize the well-being of families and the environment over the wishes of close friends and industry. Pruitt fails on both accounts.<\/p>\n

Two hearings may not be enough to cover all the questions.\u00a0 But here are ten of the biggest questions to which Americans deserve answers:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Why did Mr. Pruitt tell Fox News he had no prior knowledge of raises given to two staffers he brought from Oklahoma when an EPA Inspector General report now shows that Pruitt signed off on them?<\/li>\n
  2. Did Pruitt sometimes pick travel destinations based on his personal desires, and\u00a0ask his staff to \u201cfind me something to do\u201d to justify the use of taxpayer funds<\/a>, as a former EPA staffer alleges?\u00a0 How many taxpayer-funded trips home to Oklahoma or elsewhere were justified on the basis of a single hurriedly scheduled meeting?<\/li>\n
  3. If Pruitt needs to fly first class for security reasons, why did he\u00a0fly coach<\/a>on personal trips home to see Oklahoma football games\u2014when he could not concoct a reason for the taxpayers to pay his way?<\/li>\n
  4. Did Pruitt really text his chief of staff to tell him not to come to travel planning meetings after he raised concerns about the Administrator\u2019s travel?<\/li>\n
  5. Why were at least five EPA officials (four of them senior)reassigned or demoted<\/a>, or asking for new jobs after questioning Pruitt\u2019s spending priorities?<\/li>\n
  6. Will EPA\u2019s new #2 official, former coal and energy lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, be granted any waivers from his ethics pledge or other restrictions on helping former clients?<\/li>\n
  7. Did one of Pruitt\u2019s staffers\u00a0spend weeks<\/a>helping Pruitt search for an apartment, contacting agents and touring properties?\u00a0 For what other personal chores did Mr. Pruitt enlist government workers?<\/li>\n
  8. During Pruitt\u2019s December 2017 trip to Morocco to promote natural gas \u2014 which is not part of the EPA\u2019s mission \u2014 did he discuss Cheniere Energy Inc., which is partly owned by Donald Trump\u2019s friend Carl Icahn?\u00a0 (Icahn helped promote Pruitt for the EPA job.)<\/li>\n
  9. Does Pruitt agree with EPA air chief William Wehrum that the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which protect children from serious harm, \u201cmay not be necessary?\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. What is the full story behind the lavish home of a lobbyist eventually making its way to a shell company of which Pruitt was a stakeholder<\/a>? That same lobbyist\u2019s client would receive favorable treatment from Pruitt in the future\u2014were any backroom deals made during the transfer of the property?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As a cabinet-level official, Scott Pruitt is supposed to set an example for public servants.\u00a0 Instead, he has created a growing cloud of questions about his ethics, his honesty and his fitness for public life.\u00a0 On behalf of America\u2019s taxpayers, Congress needs to start asking Scott Pruitt questions \u2014 a lot of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Elgie Holstein Spring has been EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt\u2019s season of scandal, with each day bringing fresh allegations of the EPA Administrator\u2019s reckless disregard for his boss\u2019s promises to \u201cdrain the swamp.\u201d Worse for the country, he has adopted a sense of entitlement, which appears to have long pre-dated his arrival in Washington.\u00a0 In …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-18538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n86 Questions and Counting for Scott Pruitt - Climate 411<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2018\/04\/25\/86-questions-and-counting-for-scott-pruitt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"86 Questions and Counting for Scott Pruitt - 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