it is nice to see the distinguished Senator in the chair presiding. I am not sure, in my 183 ``Time to Wake Up'' speeches, I have yet had the pleasure of speaking while the Senator was presiding. I am here to once again call for us to wake up to the corporate capture of Congress and this administration--the capture of governance by the fossil fuel industry that keeps us from honestly addressing climate change. There is a saying that ``personnel is policy.'' Well, the Trump personnel for positions at the Environmental Protection Agency reflect a policy to undo the public welfare mission of the Agency and align it with the special interests of the fossil fuel industry. There is a word for that. It is called corruption, at least as the Founding Fathers knew the meaning of that term. It starts at the top. Trump named Scott Pruitt head of the EPA. Pruitt has a long record of dark money fundraising and long, cozy relationships with Big Energy industry political donors. In effect, he is a tentacle of the fossil fuel climate denial operation, wiggling and wriggling in the Administrator's chair, near his new $25,000 ``cone of silence'' secret communications booth that he built so no one would hear him checking in with his masters. Results are as expected. The New York Times has reported: ``How Rollbacks at Scott Pruitt's EPA are a Boon to Oil and Gas.'' No surprise.…
On the recordOctober 25, 2017
Share
More from Sheldon Whitehouse
Jul 7, 2026
The allegations against Graham Platner in the Politico story are extremely serious and I am withdrawing my support.
Jun 12, 2026
I cannot believe that you support the messages associated with these recruitment campaigns, or want anyone under your supervision to use the imprimatur of the United States Government to promote those messages.
Jul 16, 2026
The advancement of this significant package of legislation demonstrates a bipartisan commitment to maintaining and upgrading the nation’s water infrastructure.
Jul 8, 2026
The Department failed to respond to Congress, and instead, on May 18, 2026, announced that it had settled an unrelated IRS lawsuit with President Trump to create a $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate alleged victims of DOJ…





