last week called upon U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson to resign for misleading Congress and sought a federal probe into Johnson’s testimony before lawmakers.
Whitehouse, the state’s junior senator in Congress, joined fellow Senate Democrats Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) in asking U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to investigate inconsistencies in Johnson’s account of why the agency denied California’s request to impose tougher automobile emission standards than federal law allowed, Bloomberg News reported.
Johnson “has become a secretive and dangerous ally of polluters,” Boxer, chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee, said at a news conference. “We have lost all confidence in Stephen Johnson’s ability to carry out EPA’s mission in accordance with the law.”
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The charges stem from testimony Johnson gave before the Senate panel on Jan. 24, telling lawmakers he had made the waiver decision independently.
On July 22, Jason Burnett, a former senior EPA aide, contradicted Johnson, saying the denial was based on President Bush’s “policy preferences,” the senators said.
“The administrator’s comments to Congress are honest and he will continue to lead the agency undistracted,” said Jonathan Shradar, an EPA spokesman. •
