Political Quotes

“last month the Environmental Protection Agency--EPA--Administrator, Scott Pruitt, issued a directive to all Agency employees that prohibits the so-called sue-and-settle process. This is good news for good government. Most of us here are familiar with the term ``sue and settle.'' These are tactics whereby the EPA has, in the past, resolved certain lawsuits against it through agreements negotiated behind closed doors with politically favored interest groups. As we saw under the Obama administration, some of these agreements committed the EPA to take far- reaching regulatory action, all without an adequate opportunity for those people most impacted to have a seat at the table, as would normally be done through the regulatory process. Today, I come to the floor to applaud Administrator Pruitt's leadership in working to end these tactics, which make a mockery of laws that Congress has put in place to ensure a transparent and accountable regulatory process. The commonsense reforms outlined in Administrator Pruitt's directive will, no doubt, help restore transparency and accountability, and these reforms should stand as a prime example for all Federal agencies to follow. Accordingly, I call upon President Trump to use his full authority through Executive order to ensure that similar reforms are adopted across the entire bureaucracy. Regulatory decisions that affect key parts of our economy should be made in an open, transparent, and, consequently, accountable manner.…”