Schatz Statement on President-Elect Trump’s Nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement today regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Climate change is real, urgent, and caused by humans. It is a scientifically proven fact that any EPA Administrator should accept.  That’s why I cannot support Scott Pruitt, a denier of climate science, to lead the EPA.

“The EPA has the enormous responsibility of protecting our environment and keeping Americans safe and healthy. Its administrator should share those goals, but Scott Pruitt’s record has shown us that he does not.  While the EPA is tasked with protecting our people and our environment from the impacts of climate change, he denies the science behind it.  And while the agency has worked to keep our air and water clean and safe, Scott Pruitt has worked to undermine the very rules that protect those resources.

“The health of our planet and our people is too important to leave in the hands of someone who does not believe in scientific facts or the basic mission of the EPA.”