Committee Leaders Comment on Pruitt's Decision to Rollback "Sue and Settle' Policy

Statement

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) today issued the following statement after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced a rollback of the Obama administration's favored practice of "sue and settle' agreements.

"We applaud Administrator Pruitt's decision to rollback another troubling relic of the Obama administration," said Walden and Shimkus. "EPA's "sue and settle' policy committed the agency to undertake new rulemakings and circumvented legitimate oversight authority by Congress. Today's decision is a win for transparency and will provide stakeholders and the public the opportunity to fully weigh-in on the rule-making process."

In June, leaders from both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Judiciary Committee sent EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Attorney General Jeff Sessions a letter requesting further information and a briefing on plans to roll back the "sue and settle' practice.

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