Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, sent a letter to EPW Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), requesting a full Committee hearing to examine the fraudulent activity of former senior official John C. Beale during his tenure with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Agency's management practices that allowed him to commit fraud and theft for over a decade.
"There is absolutely no reason why this Committee, with jurisdiction over EPA, should not hold an oversight hearing on one of the biggest frauds in EPA's history," said Vitter. "We must protect the American taxpayers from further abuse at EPA, and in order to do so, the EPW Committee must hear from former and current EPA officials to review what went wrong, who should be held accountable, and what specific steps the Agency will take to make sure this doesn't happen again. And so once again, I urge Chairman Boxer to prioritize scheduling this hearing."
On multiple occasions since Beale's fraud was exposed, Vitter has requested a Committee hearing on the fraud and mismanagement within the EPA, but Chairman Boxer has failed to schedule one, despite public assurances that she was committed to having a hearing with EPA witnesses. Although the EPW Committee hosted a hastily scheduled briefing on Sept. 30, 2013, key EPA witnesses, such as Administrator Gina McCarthy, Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, Robert Brenner, or John Beale, were not invited to be questioned. Moreover, the briefing occurred before the EPA Office of Inspector General released two reports revealing Agency failings that facilitated fraud by Beale and possibly others.
-30-
