GOP blocks effort to hold Pruitt accountable

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, the House Rules Committee ruled against an amendment offered by Rep. Gerrard Connolly to HR6147, the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The amendment would have withheld funding to finalize ongoing rulemakings initiated by EPA Administrator Pruitt until after the Office of the Inspector General investigations into Pruitt are concluded.

Environmental groups sent a letter in support of the amendment in advance of the committee hearing.

Lukas Ross, Senior Policy Analyst at Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

Congressional Republicans yesterday gave Scott Pruitt a free pass, failing to hold him accountable for his unprecedented list of scandals. Congress should root out Pruitt’s corruption, not bury it.

Pruitt may be gone, but his toxic corruption at the EPA will live on if Congress fails to act. Pruitt’s corruption and coziness with corporate polluters tarnished every piece of policy he touched as EPA Administrator. Until the investigations into his corrupt dealings are complete, Pruitt’s policies should be suspended.

Expert contact: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Communications contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]