Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today following a report from Bloomberg BNA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt ignored analysis from EPA staff estimating that legislation being considered by Congress would cost taxpayers $250 million per year and instead reported to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the costs would be minimal:
“It is outrageous that Administrator Pruitt would intentionally ignore his own staff’s cost estimates of legislation that would undermine the very agency he is charged with overseeing. This story is extremely troubling as it appears Administrator Pruitt either lied to CBO and in turn Members of Congress about the costs of the legislation or plans to ignore health and science information during his tenure as Administrator. Neither of these scenarios are acceptable, and the Administrator’s actions put the health and safety of all Americans at risk. This action also shows that the Administrator has no intention of meeting the agency’s legal obligations on critical environmental laws. Whether he was intentionally lying about costs or purposefully ignoring health and science information, one thing is abundantly clear - Scott Pruitt continues to demonstrate that he is wholly unfit to lead the EPA."
