Bill Clinton: “I am also very appreciative of the opportunity to speak to the nomination of Governor Leavitt to be the Administrator of…”

“I am also very appreciative of the opportunity to speak to the nomination of Governor Leavitt to be the Administrator of the EPA on a particular issue of grave concern to me and to my constituents. On August 21, 2003, the inspector general of the EPA issued a report which raised serious questions about the EPA's response to the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11. In that report--I have a copy here--the EPA IG concluded that the White House had modified several EPA press releases regarding air quality in New York that made them overly reassuring to the public. Second, the IG raised a number of questions about the adequacy of the EPA's testing and cleanup program to address indoor air quality concerns in New York. These findings, as my colleagues know, were very disturbing to New Yorkers, the people I represent, who went through so much on September 11 and performed so magnificently, not only in the heroic responses by our firefighters, our police, our EMTs, and others, but also in the resilience and the extraordinary reactions of so many citizens.”