Trump ' s Environmental Nominees Advancing through Senate

Several nominations for key environmental posts within the Trump Administration are moving through the confirmation process in the Senate. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the nomination of Kathleen Harnett White to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) along a party-line vote of 11 to 10. The ranking Democrat, Senator Tom Carper (DE) said that “it was painful to watch” White’s testimony during her confirmation hearing. “It was painful to hear. And we should not inflict this pain on the people of this country.” James Connaughton, former Chair of the CEQ under President George W. Bush, said, “she is clearly highly qualified, adept, and has a breath of experience.” White has been a vocal defender of fossil fuels and has questioned the science underlying climate change on numerous occasions. She has argued that “carbon dioxide has none of the characteristics of a pollutant that could harm human health” and that we do not know the extent that humans are contributing to climate change, but “it’s not likely to be very much.” Barry Myers, the nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was questioned by the Senate Commerce Committee in late November. “I am not a scientist, but I have a passion for science and I am a leader of scientists,” Myers told the committee. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) expressed concerns with...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news