Waxman, Issa Collide Over EPA Administrator's Testimony

Wed. May 21, 2008


Though the partisan sniping was anticipated, a hearing Tuesday on deliberations leading to the EPA's March release of a new smog standard got unexpectedly heated, with House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman threatening to toss Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Frustrated by nonresponsive answers from EPA Administrator Johnson, Waxman took what Issa said was unallocated time to question Johnson. When Issa interrupted to object, the chairman banged his gavel eight times.

"I will have you physically removed from this meeting if you don't stop," Waxman said. "I want to know an answer to the question."

Although the lawmakers resolved the dispute, the flare-up, while aimed at Issa, appeared to reflect Democrats' frustration with Johnson's stonewalling of questions on the White House's overruling of EPA on a series of recent regulatory decisions.

Committee Democrats have charged the White House and OMB overruled EPA to force Johnson to adopt positions favored by affected industries on three matters: a decision in December not to grant California a waiver to impose its own restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles; a new ground-level ozone standard announced in March and the EPA's scrapping in March of a formal finding that carbon dioxide endangers the environment.

Though the EPA administrator by statute decides those issues, Waxman said evidence that Johnson was overruled by the White House on all three matters raises concern that Johnson has "become essentially a figurehead."

"Three times in the last six months you've recommended to the White House that EPA takes steps to protect against climate change ... but in each case you backed down," Waxman said.

While Republicans argued White House involvement in such decisions is proper, Democrats said White House pressure appears to have forced Johnson to adopt shaky legal arguments to justify last-minute decisions opposed by EPA.

Johnson testified that he made each decision himself, following legal guidelines governing what factors can be considered.

But Johnson exasperated Democrats by refusing to say if he met with President Bush regarding the ozone standard, arguing that doing so might stop future administrators from giving candid advice.

Johnson said only that he regularly consults with the White House, repeatedly using a stock statement that Waxman mimicked at one point.

What Democrats consider Johnson's stonewalling of congressional inquiries could draw contempt findings from two House panels.

House Global Warming Chairman Edward Markey announced his panel will vote Thursday on holding Johnson in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena for documents related to EPA's findings on carbon dioxide danger.

Waxman has suggested his committee may vote to hold Johnson and Susan Dudley, head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, in contempt if they do not comply with subpoenas for documents on the ozone standard.

Both agencies have turned over thousands of documents but Tuesday continued to refuse to provide material on communications with the White House.

Waxman said the committee will insist on getting the outstanding material but declined to discuss what steps he will take if the agencies do not comply.

by Dan Friedman