Bush Appointees Gut Air Quality Rule and Give Congress False Information about the Consequences

The Bush administration has gone to great lengths, even so far as giving false information to Congress, to gut a clean air regulation opposed by electric utilities – an industry that funneled $4.8 million into Bush’s 2000 campaign.

An investigation by the GAO now has confirmed key findings contained in Public Citizen’s report, EPA’s Smoke Screen: How Deception of Congress, Campaign Contributions and Political Connections Gutted a Key Clean Air Rule.

Documents and discussions with former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials reveal that Bush appointees made untrue statements to two Senate committees when asked if a weakened New Source Review (NSR) rule was expected to jeopardize pollution lawsuits. Contrary to what senators were told, EPA staffers had concluded that the new rule would undercut enforcement cases that had the potential to reduce air pollution from  U.S. electric utilities by 50 percent annually.

Bush Appointees Gut Air Quality Rule and Give Congress False Information about the Consequences

The Bush administration has gone to great lengths, even so far as giving false information to Congress, to gut a clean air regulation opposed by electric utilities – an industry that funneled $4.8 million into Bush’s 2000 campaign.

An investigation by the GAO now has confirmed key findings contained in Public Citizen’s report, EPA’s Smoke Screen: How Deception of Congress, Campaign Contributions and Political Connections Gutted a Key Clean Air Rule.

Documents and discussions with former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials reveal that Bush appointees made untrue statements to two Senate committees when asked if a weakened New Source Review (NSR) rule was expected to jeopardize pollution lawsuits. Contrary to what senators were told, EPA staffers had concluded that the new rule would undercut enforcement cases that had the potential to reduce air pollution from  U.S. electric utilities by 50 percent annually.

Bush Appointees Gut Air Quality Rule and Give Congress False Information about the Consequences

The Bush administration has gone to great lengths, even so far as giving false information to Congress, to gut a clean air regulation opposed by electric utilities – an industry that funneled $4.8 million into Bush’s 2000 campaign.

An investigation by the GAO now has confirmed key findings contained in Public Citizen’s report, EPA’s Smoke Screen: How Deception of Congress, Campaign Contributions and Political Connections Gutted a Key Clean Air Rule.

Documents and discussions with former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials reveal that Bush appointees made untrue statements to two Senate committees when asked if a weakened New Source Review (NSR) rule was expected to jeopardize pollution lawsuits. Contrary to what senators were told, EPA staffers had concluded that the new rule would undercut enforcement cases that had the potential to reduce air pollution from  U.S. electric utilities by 50 percent annually.