{"id":64201,"date":"2018-04-27T05:06:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T05:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=64201"},"modified":"2018-04-27T05:06:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T05:06:28","slug":"scott-pruitt-on-capitol-hill-deflects-blame-for-ethical-lapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/scott-pruitt-on-capitol-hill-deflects-blame-for-ethical-lapses.html","title":{"rendered":"Scott Pruitt, on Capitol Hill, Deflects Blame for Ethical Lapses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Pruitt, on Capitol Hill, Deflects Blame for Ethical Lapses<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency chief, had an easier time than expected on Capitol Hill on Thursday as he deflected Democrats\u2019 pointed questions about accusations of ethical infractions and lavish personal spending at the taxpayers\u2019 expense.<\/span><\/p>\n

He insisted that the charges were false and that decisions involving illegal actions had been made by his staff members without his knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have nothing to hide,\u201d Mr. Pruitt said. Republicans were largely sympathetic.<\/span><\/p>\n

His performance, supporters said, may have saved his job and his standing with President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an audience of one, and Pruitt acquitted himself well,\u201d said Frank V. Maisano, a principal at the law firm Bracewell, which represents energy companies that lobby the E.P.A.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Pruitt, whose job security has appeared perilous recently as allegations of ethical improprieties have increased, gave a restrained performance before two House committees. His responses, however, rarely offered direct answers to questions about accusations of excessive spending or conflicts of interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Democrats, who have called for his resignation, sought to force Mr. Pruitt to accept culpability for a variety of ethical missteps, he denied knowledge of or responsibility for the actions in question. Republicans, after briefly chastising Mr. Pruitt in their opening remarks, asked friendly questions that appeared calculated to allow him to talk about his policy proposals.<\/span><\/p>\n

As reports about Mr. Pruitt have continued to increase, some White House staff members have urged Mr. Trump to fire the E.P.A. chief. Some Republican leaders have called for his resignation, and many in Mr. Pruitt\u2019s own party have called for investigations into his actions. But analysts who watched his performance on Thursday said he did well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Ken Calvert, Republican of California and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee where Mr. Pruitt testified in the afternoon, called the administrator\u2019s appearance \u201cvery professional.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if Mr. Pruitt should resign he said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, of course, the only opinion about Mr. Pruitt\u2019s fate that matters is the president\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think his effort will be well received by the president,\u201d Mr. Maisano said. He has more explaining to do, but it was a good effort to mend fences. There were no lethal blows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Pruitt is now the subject of 10 federal investigations, including questions about his office\u2019s illegal purchase of a secure phone booth, his condominium rental agreement with the wife of an energy lobbyist, and accusations that he demoted or sidelined E.P.A. employees who questioned his actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Committee Democrats queried him sharply about the reports of his ethical lapses and pressed Mr. Pruitt on his rollbacks of environmental rules, in particular, a new policy, proposed this week, that would limit the E.P.A.\u2019s use of scientific research in crafting new health and environmental rules. Scientists have deplored the proposed rule, saying that it would significantly limit the agency\u2019s use of rigorous science.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdministrator Pruitt has brought secrecy, conflicts of interest and scandal to the E.P.A.,\u201d said Representative Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Mr. Pruitt testified Thursday morning. \u201cYou are unfit to hold public office and undeserving of the public trust,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery indication we have is you really should resign.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Walden, Republican of Oregon and the chairman of the House Energy committee, offered light criticism before moving on to praising Mr. Pruitt for his efforts to roll back environmental regulations. \u201cI am concerned that the good progress being made on the policy front is being undercut by allegations of your management of the agency and use of its resources,\u201d he said. \u201cThese issues are too persistent to ignore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Conservative lawmakers from fossil-fuel producing states, who have long pushed for the rollback of E.P.A. regulations, bypassed even slight criticism of Mr. Pruitt, attributing the scrutiny on his actions to a political witch hunt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative David B. McKinley, Republican of West Virginia, told Mr. Pruitt sympathetically that the attacks on him \u201chave an echo of McCarthyism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, the past 14 months of Mr. Pruitt\u2019s tenure has been building to this moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Oklahoma\u2019s attorney general, he made a name for himself aggressively battling the agency he now leads. Mr. Pruitt\u2019s confirmation was fiercely opposed by Democrats, environmentalists and even E.P.A. employees. Since taking the helm of the agency, Mr. Pruitt has worked to strip the E.P.A. of funding, reduce its staff and curb its ability to develop new regulations on fossil fuel pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n

No E.P.A. director in history has achieved Mr. Pruitt\u2019s level of notoriety. Since the agency was formed, its administrators have been second-tier Washington figures. But Mr. Pruitt\u2019s antagonism toward climate science has made him a nationally-prominent and divisive figure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics said that more than the ethical and spending issues, the real damage to the E.P.A. has been Mr. Pruitt\u2019s systematic weakening of the agency\u2019s ability to protect the environment and public health. While Mr. Pruitt\u2019s performance in Thursday\u2019s hearings may make or break his future within the Trump administration, many said his legacy was already set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been a flagrant, shameless series of calculated decisions to dismantle the country\u2019s most successful domestic enterprise,\u201d William K. Reilly, who led the E.P.A. under the first President George Bush, said of Mr. Pruitt\u2019s leadership. \u201cIt\u2019s really a national tragedy,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Thursday morning\u2019s hearing, Representative Joe Barton of Texas, who has long denied the overwhelming evidence of human effects on climate change, offered sympathy. \u201cMr. Pruitt, you\u2019re not the first victim of Washington politics,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats unsuccessfully sought to pin down Mr. Pruitt on questions about his expenditures, and to force him to accept culpability for some the actions now under investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Tony C\u00e1rdenas, a California Democrat, asked about Mr. Pruitt\u2019s soundproof booth, installed in his E.P.A. office at a cost of $43,000. The Government Accountability Office has ruled that the expenditure broke the law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was not aware of the approval of the $43,000,\u201d Mr. Pruitt told him, \u201cand if I had known about it, congressman, I would not have approved it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. C\u00e1rdenas responded that \u201cif someone was spending $43,000 in my office, I would know about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, launched into questions about Mr. Pruitt\u2019s involvement in real estate deals in Oklahoma that have been reported in The New York Times, referring to the purchaser of his home as a \u201cshell company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a shell company,\u201d he said quickly, and added that such financial structures were commonly used to purchase real estate in Oklahoma.<\/span><\/p>\n

She then asked Mr. Pruitt whether he had paid taxes on rent he received. He said the issue had been handed over to an accountant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not doing this to hassle you. I\u2019m doing this as an elected official,\u201d Ms. DeGette said as she ended her questions. \u201cEverything we do has to be to the highest ethical standards.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Paul Tonko, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy\u2019s subcommittee on the Environment, pressed Mr. Pruitt on his claims that he was unaware that the E.P.A. had used an obscure legal provision to grant hefty raises to political appointees, bypassing approval by the White House. Mr. Pruitt has said the decision was taken by his chief of staff, Ryan Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDid you authorize Mr. Jackson to sign those documents for you?\u201d Mr. Tonko asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was not aware of the amount and I was not aware of the bypassing that was going on,\u201d Mr. Pruitt replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even some Republicans criticized Mr. Pruitt for repeatedly blaming his staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you say give me a phone booth, and your staff does it, you should say, I\u2019m at fault,\u201d said Representative John Shimkus, Republican of Illinois, the chairman of the House Energy subcommittee, speaking to reporters after the morning hearing. \u201cIt\u2019s never good to blame your staff. Or at least do it behind closed doors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And Representative Anna G. Eshoo, a California Democrat, used her turn at questioning to try to get Mr. Pruitt to accept culpability. \u201cYou have a solid record of violating ethics rules from the state level to the federal government,\u201d she told Mr. Pruitt. \u201cI think it\u2019s an embarrassment.\u201d And then she asked, \u201cDo you have any remorse? Yes or no?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Pruitt responded: \u201cI think there are changes I\u2019ve made already. I\u2019ve made a change from first class to coach travel.\u201d Ms. Eshoo returned to her call for a yes-or-no answer, and asked Mr. Pruitt whether he would reimburse the government. He launched into a long response, but she cut him off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith all due respect, I may be elected, but I\u2019m not a fool,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is not \u2018dodge-question\u2019 day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/26\/climate\/congress-pruitt-epa-ethics.html<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t