WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), raised serious concerns after the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General (EPA OIG) released a report determining that further actions need to be taken at EPA to strengthen controls over the Administrator's travel, in light of the excessive costs accrued from former Administrator Scott Pruitt's travel through Dec. 31, 2017. This decision comes after the EPA OIG determined last year that the agency failed to properly justify the level of protective services provided to the Administrator.
“Resigning in disgrace shouldn't let you off the hook for unprecedented unethical behavior, and the latest report released by the OIG today confirms that. We appreciate the EPA OIG continuing to investigate these abuses after former Administrator Pruitt has fled the agency, but now it is up to the current Administrator to ensure that we never see behavior like this at EPA again. Yet, in its March 2019 response to the OIG's finding, EPA retroactively approved all of the exorbitant travel costs identified by the OIG. We urge Administrator Wheeler to immediately reverse course on this irresponsible decision, and conduct much needed internal oversight, reform policies at the agency and take every step needed to recover these costs. The American people deserve to know that those holding the highest offices in our land are not only held to the highest standards, but are also being good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
