{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/epw-members-call-on-pruitt-to-reveal-connections-to-secretive-group-coordinating-epa-challenges", "EPW Members Call on Pruitt to Reveal Connections to Secretive Group Coordinating EPA Challenges", "2016-12-28", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Sheldon Whitehouse", "W000802", "www.whitehouse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.28.16\n\t\t\t EPW Members Call on Pruitt to Reveal Connections to Secretive Group Coordinating EPA Challenges \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Trump\u2019s EPA nominee should explain his role in Koch-linked group, Senators write\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Washington, DC \u2013 Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee have sent a letter to president-elect Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, requesting information on his involvement with the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a secretive tax-exempt group that has helped to coordinate challenges to the EPA.\u00a0 While the Fund has been linked to the Koch brothers\u2019 network of conservative organizations, most of its activities and backers remain a secret; the New York Times has reported the Fund is a \u201clegal entity that allows companies benefiting from the actions of Mr. Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general to make anonymous donations, in unlimited amounts.\u201d\u00a0 Pruitt played a central role in launching the Fund, serves on its board, and has attended Fund-sponsored events as recently as this year.\u00a0 In their letter, EPW members Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) request a response from Pruitt prior to the Committee\u2019s confirmation hearing on his nomination, consistent with Committee precedent.\r\nFull text of the letter is below and a PDF copy is available here.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nDecember 27, 2016\r\nThe Honorable Scott Pruitt\r\nAttorney General of Oklahoma\r\nOklahoma Attorney General's Office\r\n313 NE 21st Street\r\nOklahoma City, OK 73105\r\nDear Mr. Pruitt,\r\nAs members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, we look forward to discussing with you your nomination to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).\u00a0\u00a0 Since its inception in 1970, EPA has played an integral role in federal and state efforts to protect public health and ensure we all have clean air to breathe and water to drink.\u00a0 It has long been the expectation of this Committee that the EPA Administrator put the public\u2019s interest first and commit to running the agency in a fully transparent manner.\u00a0\r\nWe have been troubled that as Attorney General of Oklahoma you used, nearly verbatim, industry talking points in official correspondence your office sent to EPA concerning EPA\u2019s estimation of methane pollution in your state.\u00a0 Thanks to news reporting prior to your nomination, we now know about your close relationship with Devon Energy and that you appear to have been willing to accept its representations about its business practices without independent confirmation or analysis. That reporting, based on documents produced by your office pursuant to Freedom of Information Act requests, also documented how you and members of your staff have worked closely with fossil fuel industry lobbyists to craft positions taken by your office.\u00a0\u00a0What that conduct says about your ability to lead EPA in a manner that is not beholden to special or secret interests is a subject that we expect will receive a full airing during your confirmation hearing.\r\nYour relationship with the Rule of Law Defense Fund (the Fund) has received less attention but is no less troubling.\u00a0 According to its website, the Fund is a \u201cpublic policy organization for issues relevant to the nation\u2019s Republican attorneys general.\u201d \u00a0The Fund\u2019s annual IRS 990 reports list you as a member of its board and news reporting indicates you were instrumental in efforts to organize the Fund and you have participated in retreats organized by the Fund as recently as this year.\u00a0 Its organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code means the Fund need not disclose the identities of its donors, though Freedom Partners, which funds initiatives supported by the Koch brothers, has given the Fund at least $175,000 since 2014.\u00a0 The Fund\u2019s activities, and your relationship to it, also require a full examination during your confirmation process.\r\nBefore the Senate votes to confirm you to run EPA, it is important that you provide a full disclosure of your relationship with the energy industry so we can determine how that will influence your ability to run the agency. \u00a0Accordingly, we request you provide the following information before your confirmation hearing before the Committee:\u200e\u00a0\r\n \r\nA written explanation of the role you or any person under your supervision has played in the establishment and operation of the Fund;\r\nA list of all donors who have contributed to the Fund since its inception, total donated, and their affiliations;\r\nA list of all requests you have made for funding and what was given and from whom in response;\r\nA list of all expenditures of over $1,000 made by the Fund since its inception;\u00a0\r\nDetails of any Fund expenditures over $100 that have benefited you or any person under your supervision, including travel;\u00a0\r\nAll communications, including e-mails, between you and the Fund and between you and any individuals related to the establishment of the Fund or the conduct of the Fund\u2019s activities;\r\nA list\u00a0of\u00a0all meetings\u00a0and fundraisers organized by or sponsored in whole or in part by the Fund that you or any person under your supervision attended, including the dates, locations,\u00a0agendas and attendees; \u200eand\r\nA list of all federal and state legislation or regulations the Fund has\u00a0taken a position on, Fund-organized legal briefs and letters to federal lawmakers,\u00a0and all actions you have taken with respect to those matters.\u200e\r\n \r\nThe confirmation process, starting with your responses to Committee questions before your hearing, is an opportunity for you to dispel the notion that the advocacy you have undertaken on environmental issues as Attorney General of Oklahoma has been directed by and for the benefit of the energy industry.\u00a0 Accordingly, we look forward to your timely response to this request.\u00a0\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\n_________________________\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00ad\u00ad________________________\r\nSheldon Whitehouse\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Edward J. Markey\r\nUnited States Senator \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 United States Senator\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n________________________\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ________________________\r\nJeffrey A. Merkley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cory A. Booker\r\nUnited States Senator \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 United States Senator\r\n\u00a0\r\n________________________\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ________________________\r\nBernard Sanders\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Benjamin L. Cardin\r\nUnited States Senator \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0United States Senator\r\n\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/epw-members-call-on-pruitt-to-reveal-connections-to-secretive-group-coordinating-epa-challenges"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5576737932860851, "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"}