{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/amo-raises-alarm-over-trump-epa-chief-s-failure-to-appear-before-congress", "Amo Raises Alarm Over Trump EPA Chief\u2019s Failure to Appear Before Congress", "2026-06-09", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 TODAY, Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) of House Science\u2019s 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.\n\nZeldin\u2019s failure to appear leaves numerous open questions about the EPA\u2019s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request and breaks longstanding bipartisan precedent for Administrators to appear before the Committee.\n\nIn a letter to Chairman Babin, Amo stresses the need to question Zeldin over the EPA\u2019s 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.\n\nAmo writes:\n\n\u201cGiven Administrator Zeldin\u2019s 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Committee\u2019s 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\u2019s jurisdiction does not show up. If the Administrator won\u2019t defend its budget in public, it raises serious alarms about what they are trying to hide.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdministrator Zeldin\u2019s failure to sit before our Committee would represent an abrupt departure from that bipartisan norm and undermine our Committee\u2019s institutional role.\u201d\n\nA full copy of the letter can be found HERE.\n\nAdditional information\n\nEPA 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:\n\nAdministrator Michael Regan (September 27, 2023)\n\nAdministrator Andrew Wheeler (September 19, 2019)\n\nAdministrator Gina McCarthy (November 14, 2013, July 9, 2015, and June 22, 2016)\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-27T21:44:12Z", "2026-06-27T22:11:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/amo-raises-alarm-over-trump-epa-chief-s-failure-to-appear-before-congress"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9973538108170033, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}