Sen. Tom Carper
(D-DE) sharply questioned Scott Pruitt, the nominee to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during a recent hearing in Washington, D.C.
Carper, the most senior Democrat on the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, described Pruitt's environmental record as "deeply troubling." Pruitt is currently the attorney general of Oklahoma.
Carper
said Pruitt has attempted to block protections that are currently in place to guarantee that all states participate in efforts to maintain clean air. He told Pruitt that almost all of the air pollution in his home state of Delaware comes from power plants in other states.
“As governor of
Delaware, even if I had eliminated every source of air pollution within our
state by stopping every combustion source and ordering every motor vehicle off
of our roads, Delawareans still would have faced deadly doses of air
pollution,” Carper said. “Should children and others in Delaware
really be forced to live with the consequences of decisions made by polluters
hundreds – or even thousands – of miles from us? I don’t think so.”
Carper also questioned Pruitt's dedication to dealing
with harmful emissions and air pollutants, particularly ones from power plants
that impact neighboring states’ air quality.
Democratic leader presses EPA nominee
