MAZI8306 SLE. Ohn VGRESS S. RES. Expressing no vonfidenes im the Administrator of the Environmental Proto tion Agency and calling for the immediate resignation of the Adminis- ‘rater. 1518 CO} 2p SEs IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES Mr, Upaut, (for himself, Mrs. GILIbRAND, Mr, Cagres, Mr. Bi BOOKER, Mr. VAN Horiex, Mr, MERILEY, Ms, Stamenow, Ms. COR- ‘tw Masro, Mr. DuRDIN, Me. Heinich, Me. BLUMENTHAL, Mr, Mate Ms, WARREN, Mr, WHEreuoUse, Mr, PETERS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. NELSON, Mr. Scruussr, Mrs, MURRAY, Ms, KLO- nuctaR, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. Hassa, Mr. WyDEN, Ms. Shri, Mr SANDERS, Mr. Casny, Ms. HARRIS, Ms, CantWELL, Mrs, SHAHEEN, Mr. Kains, Mr, Brows, Mr, Cooxs, Ms. Hmono, Mr, WARNER, Ms, Duco Medea — ) submitted the following resoln tion; which was referred to th Committee on viet, Mr, RESOLUTION ‘ing no confidence in the Administrator of the Envi- Expre ronmental Prote ection Agency and calling for the imm diate resignation of the Administrator. Whereas the Administrator of the Environmental Protection (referred to in this preamble as the “Adminis- Agency trator”) is a key position in the Executive Branch; Whereas the mission of the Environmental Protection Agi (referred to in this preamble as the “Ageney”) is to pro- tect mman health and the environmentsMAZTSA00 SLC. 2 Whereas the Agency is vested by law with the principal re- ousibility Hing and abating pollution in the areas of ait, water, land, hazardous waste, noise, radi- ation, and toxic substances; Whereas Seott Praitt, as Administrator, has misused tax- payer dollars by spending those taxpayer dollars on exe cessive personal conveniences and unnecessary office en- hancements while dramatically cutting budgets and statf for critically important enforcement, research, and imple- mentation activities; Whereas, under Administrator Pruitt— (1) the Ageney is hemorrhaging staff and experts needed to protect the health, safety, and livelihood of mit lions of people of the United States, with more than 700 employees of the Ageney having left or heen foreed out of the Agency during his tenure as Administrator; (2) the Agency is secking to shrink staff of the Ageney by 3,200 employ: ree of the Age s (or roughly 20 percent of the of about 15,000), which would make it difficult to implement the mission of the Ageney; and (3) top officials of the Ageney have been granted permission to also work for private companies while em- ployed by the Agency, creating major contliets of interest with their positions at the Ageneys Whereas, by delaying the effective date of regniations, easing cufor mentation of new regulations, Administrator Pruitt is cement of existing regulations, and delaying impte- helping polhuters at the expense of the health, safety, and livelihood of millions of people of the United States; Whereas Administrator Pruitt has failed to exereise the en- forcement authorities of the Ageney, whieh are necessaryavs suc 3 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 & memorandum that required regional offices of the Ageney to first seck permission from Ageney head- qnarters before— (1) investigating potential pollution violations; (2) requesting information from potential viokators; or (3) requiring additional monitoring from companies suspected of violations; Whereas Administrator Praitt has continually overridden the recommendations of the seioutists of the Agency in order to provide relic to industry, leaving in place the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides, and policies that are di- rectly impacting the health and well-being of millions of people of the United States; Whereas the Ageney is expected to maintain and uphold unbi- ased scientific credibility, but Administrator Pruitt— (1) has undertaken actions direetly counter to the science-based mmission of the Ageney by working to under- mine and censor science, scientists, and researchers; (2) has skewed the membership of all advisory com- mmittees of the Ageney by removing and barring highly qualified, independent scientists from those advisory com- mitiees if the scientist has received grants from the Agency, while allowing individuals who reeeive funding from industry to serve on those advisory connnitives; and (3) is attempting to paralyze the ability of the Agen- ey to set health-based pollution standards by restricting the use of seientifie research by the Ageney unless thatMazisa06 SLC. 4 research complies with criteria that are intentionally y impossible to meets Whereas Administrator Pruitt— (1) has shielded his aetions from the people of the United States, including by refusing to make his schedule public or provide justiffeations tor his policy and rule making decisions, in a way not done by any previous Ad- ministrator; 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 re- sponded to, masking all but the most hasie information about meetings, travel, and spending of Administrator Pruitt from the publics Whereas Administrator Pruitt bas lost the faith off the public through his coutinned undermining of basie ethics, par- ticularly the ethies of impartiality (suel as by renting a below-market priced room in a condominium owned by an energy lobbyist with elieuts who had interests that are regulated by the Agency), and is tarnishing the reputa- tion of serving in public office at. the Agency; and Whereas, tor the reasons described in this preamble, Seott Pruitt, as Administrator, has failed to faithfully dis- charge the functions of that office: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 2 (1) Scott Pruitt should resign immediately from: 3 lis post as Administrator of the Environmental Pro- 4 tection Ageney; andMARTRIO8 eo NHR wD Le 5 (2) the President should appoint to the oftice of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency an individual who will be committed to the fulfilment of the mission of the Environmental Pro- tection Ageney and who is able to fully and faithfully discharge the public duties entrusted to the office off the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,