A coalition of nine US environmental and public health groups are demanding a delay in Senate confirmation hearings for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator nominee Andrew Wheeler, the Center for American Progress said in a press release on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2019) A coalition of nine US environmental and public health groups are demanding a delay in Senate confirmation hearings for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator nominee Andrew Wheeler, the Center for American Progress said in a press release on Monday."It is profoundly unfair for Mr. Wheeler to audition for a promotion to lead an agency while the entire agency workforce is locked out and denied their paychecks, making it difficult to pay their bills and mortgages and provide for their families," the groups wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso.
Wheeler, who now serves as EPA administrator in an acting capacity, was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the agency earlier this month and Barrasso has scheduled confirmation hearings for January 26, the release said.
Environmentalists object to Wheeler because of his past work as a lobbyist for the coal industry, which the release said reflects a "toxic agenda" that favors polluters over ordinary Americans, the release said.
The letter was signed by leaders of the League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Center for American Progress, Environmental Defense Fund and Friends of the Earth, according to the release.
Barrasso had urged Trump to nominate Wheeler, who has served as acting EPA administrator since the July and was confirmed by the Senate as Deputy EPA administrator in April 2018.
