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Pingree Tells EPA Secretary Pruitt: 'We're Not Moving In the Right Direction'

Alex Brandon
/
AP Photo

Maine Congressperson Chellie Pingree sharply criticized Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt for ethics issues and for policies that she says are weakening environmental protections.

Credit Pat Wellenbach
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-North Haven 2012

At a hearing on the EPA’s budget Thursday, Pingree blasted Pruitt for denying the importance of global warming and his actions seeking to roll back environmental protections.

Pingree: “We don’t have time to blame the last Congress, I want to hear some leadership out of you about what we are going to do about it…"

Pruitt: “We have actually, as a country, reduced our CO2 footprint almost 20 percent for the years 2000 and 2014. There was a change in the report that recently came out…”

Pingree: “If it’s gone down from 2000 to 2014 and you are rolling back the standards, we are not moving in the right direction.”

Pingree also questioned his fitness to serve as Administrator of the EPA given the ten ethics investigations he is currently facing.

“I am just really worried that he is undermining our environmental policy and you know almost in a way distracting us with all these crazy ethics violations,” Pingree said. 

Pingree is among the 140 House members and 39 Senators that have signed a letter calling for Pruitt to resign amid accusations of ethics violations.

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.