EPA’s Pruitt Reaches Out to House Coal Supporters
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Monday met with coal state lawmakers on Capitol Hill at a meeting of the House Coal Caucus, pledging to balance environmental regulations with economic growth.
Pruitt carried the message that the “war on coal is over,” according to the EPA. “This administration says we can and we will achieve both a healthy environment and a growing economy,” Pruitt said after the meeting.
The trip to Capitol Hill was meant to recap the administration’s efforts to rein in former President Barack Obama’s regulatory efforts blamed by critics for shuttering coal plants and raising energy costs.
Pruitt’s visit comes as the administration prepares to release its budget proposal to Congress Tuesday, which will need lawmakers’ support to pass into law. Massive cuts to EPA’s regulatory machine of at least 30 percent are anticipated under the forthcoming budget.
“Administrator Pruitt’s eagerness to engage with lawmakers has been a breath of fresh air here on Capitol Hill,” said John Shimkus, R-Ill., after the meeting. He is chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s environmental panel with oversight over the EPA.
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- On May 23, 2017