Amo Raises Alarm Over Trump EPA Chief’s Failure to Appear Before Congress

Washington, DC - TODAY, Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) of House Science's Environment Subcommittee raised concerns after GOP Chairman Brian Babin neglected to secure the testimony of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin before the Committee.

Zeldin's failure to appear leaves numerous open questions about the EPA's Fiscal Year 2027 budget request and breaks longstanding bipartisan precedent for Administrators to appear before the Committee.

In a letter to Chairman Babin, Amo stresses the need to question Zeldin over the EPA's alarming Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which slashes funding for clean air and water programs, environmental enforcement, and scientific research. This failure to appear undermines Congressional oversight and prevents Members from fully evaluating the impact of the proposed cuts.

Amo writes:

"Given Administrator Zeldin's attempts to gut his agency and allow it to be captured by corporate interests, it is critical that members of the Science Committee can conduct their oversight responsibilities to represent their constituents effectively."

"The Committee's oversight responsibilities are critical to ensuring transparency and the responsible use of taxpayer funds. Our work is hindered when the head of an agency within our committee's jurisdiction does not show up. If the Administrator won't defend its budget in public, it raises serious alarms about what they are trying to hide."

"Administrator Zeldin's failure to sit before our Committee would represent an abrupt departure from that bipartisan norm and undermine our Committee's institutional role."

A full copy of the letter can be found HERE.

Additional information

EPA Administrators from both parties, across multiple administrations, have appeared before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee to answer questions and justify their policies and budgets. That includes the following individuals under the previous three Presidential Administrations:

• Administrator Michael Regan (September 27, 2023)
• Administrator Andrew Wheeler (September 19, 2019)
• Administrator Gina McCarthy (November 14, 2013, July 9, 2015, and June 22, 2016)

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