On May 19, 2008, the Majority Staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a memo regarding EPA's denial of the California GHG waiver. The memo indicates that the record shows: (1) the career staff at EPA unanimously supported granting California’s petition; (2) EPA Administrator Johnson also supported granting California's petition at least in part; and (3) Administrator Johnson reversed his position after communications with White House officials.
The memo states the record does not explain why the California petition was denied given the strong support inside EPA. It further states that it appears that the White House played a significant role in the reversal of the EPA position and that this raises questions about the basis for the White House actions. The memo implies that the President or his advisors may have pressured Administrator Johnson to ignore the record before the agency for political or other inappropriate reasons.
Finally, the memo states that additional investigation by the Committee will be required to assess the basis for the White House intervention in the decision.
A copy of the memo along with supporting documents is online at the Committee’s website (http://oversight.house.gov/).
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