Press Release  AG Healey Urges U.S. Senate to Oppose Confirmation of Scott Pruitt to the EPA

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is urging the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to oppose the confirmation of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling him manifestly unsuited for the role.

The letter, sent yesterday by a coalition of nine attorneys general, argues that Pruitt is “openly hostile” to the EPA’s mission of working with state, local and tribal governments to protect human health and the environment, and as attorney general, has made attacking the regulations that the EPA is charged with enforcing a key priority.

“For years, Scott Pruitt has made it his mission to fight the EPA at every opportunity by questioning the science of climate change and reversing the progress we’ve made as a nation in cleaning up our air,” said AG Healey. “I am deeply concerned that his confirmation will lead to the dismantling of critical regulations that have allowed Massachusetts and other states to work with the federal government to protect the health and welfare of our residents.”

Pruitt has filed a number of lawsuits seeking to block the EPA from fulfilling its obligations under the Clean Air Act. He has also been a vocal critic of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and was part of a group of states that challenged the rule and obtained a stay of its implementation last year.

For years, the AG’s Office has been a leader in advancing clean energy solutions that create jobs and protect the environment. The AG’s Office fought to secure federal regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, including leading a coalition of states, in coordination with numerous partners, in the landmark Supreme Court case of Massachusetts v. EPA.  Recently, the AG’s Office joined states and localities in urging President-elect Trump to support the Clean Power Plan.

Joining AG Healey in today’s letter are the attorneys general of Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. Click here to read the letter.

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