Statement by NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann
Today, The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is considering Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the nation’s top environmental and public health watchdog: the Environmental Protection Agency.
You could not find a more unsuitable candidate to lead the EPA than Pruitt. He has proven himself to be an anti-science, anti-environment ideologue who is hostile to the central mission of the EPA. He stands for the interests of polluting industries and rejects the role of the federal government in protecting the health of American people and our environment.
Maine has a lot to lose from such a terrible EPA leader, and the more we learn, the more unqualified for the job Pruitt appears. As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, he fought to kill EPA rules that limit ozone smog and toxic mercury pollution from power plants, which blow into Maine from upwind states and foul our air and worsen our public health. He rejects the established science of climate change.
Since Maine Senator Ed Muskie led the passage of the Clean Air Act, Maine has depended on and benefited from the use of the Clean Air Act to reduce dangerous air pollution coming from outside our state. Pruitt’s position could not be more contrary to Maine’s interest.
Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King recognize the critical importance of the EPA. They care deeply about Maine’s environment and have taken bold actions to address climate and air pollution. It’s time for them to stand up for Maine again and reject Scott Pruitt’s nomination to head the EPA. We strongly urge both Senators to declare their opposition to Pruitt immediately and work with colleagues of both parties to defeat his confirmation.
