Select Committee Postpones EPA Contempt Vote Pending Completion of Agreement with White House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Select Committee, 202-225-4081
Select Committee Postpones EPA Contempt Vote Pending Completion of Agreement with White House
WASHINGTON (May 22, 2008) – The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming postponed its contempt vote scheduled today against Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson pending completion of an agreement with the White House to provide the Select Committee with access to requested documents.
The pending agreement would fulfill the original intent of the process between Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Administrator Johnson which has stretched into its 5th month.
“The agreement would allow Congress the right to conduct oversight on important executive decisions,” said Chairman Markey. “Our goal all along was to acquire access to these global warming documents, and the committee has succeeded in that effort in a bi-partisan way.”
The committee has been pursuing two sets of documents, both easily accessed by the agency. The documents relate to EPA’s decisions on global warming emissions regulations for vehicles, and on the agency’s ruling on the risks of heat-trapping pollution to public health or welfare.
Starting in January, Chairman Markey requested the documents from Administrator Johnson, and has offered several proposals since then to accommodate the agency’s wishes to keep the documents private until June 21, 2008, while still recognizing Congress’ right to the documents.
CLICK HERE for a PDF of the timeline of events.
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