NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell, Stupak Question EPA on “Fishbowl” Transparency Policy

Washington, DC – Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, today wrote Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson, questioning whether the EPA has yet, under the Bush Administration, issued written directives instructing employees to conduct their business in a fair and open manner.

In 1983, William Ruckelshaus, the first Administrator of the EPA, returned to the Agency for his second term as Administrator. In cleaning up the EPA after a scandalous period, Ruckelshaus promised that EPA would operate openly, as if it were “in a fishbowl.” Dingell and Stupak’s letter notes that, with the exception of this Administration, every EPA Administrator since Ruckelshaus has issued a “Fishbowl Memo,” instructing employees to conduct themselves with openness and integrity.

“Our committee staff have been unable to locate a ‘Fishbowl Memo’ issued under this Administration,” Dingell said. “This raises the question: under what directives for transparency and openness are EPA employees currently operating? The EPA can only effectively serve the public interest if it conducts business in a manner that is open, fair and transparent. I intend to ensure this EPA holds itself to the same standards of integrity that previous Administrations have.”

“It is up to the leadership of the EPA to ensure that the Agency is functioning in a transparent and open manner,” Stupak said. “Our Committee is simply asking Administrator Johnson whether a policy of transparency and openness is in place, and how he is enforcing such a policy.”

The letter from Dingell and Stupak asks whether EPA is abiding by the most recent “Fishbowl Memo,” which was issued in 1993, or whether a new policy has been implemented. The letter further asks EPA, if it does not have a specific policy, to answer a series of questions related to openness and integrity.

Read the letter

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