Rep. Don Beyer filed an amendment for upcoming appropriations legislation for the Interior, Environment, and related agencies which would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) from using federal funds for multiple calendars to conceal details of meetings, calls, and travel from the public.
Beyer said:
“Unfortunately, ousted EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt engaged in willful dishonesty to the public when it came to revealing to whom he gave influence when conducting official business. Now there is evidence to suggest that Secretary Zinke may have engaged in similar deception. My amendment would end secret schedules at EPA and DOI and help restore transparency, which is essential for holding public officials accountable to the people they represent.”
Before his departure, Scott Pruitt was accused by his former Deputy Chief of Staff of deleting meetings from his official schedule. Discrepancies between officially-released schedules and internal emails between Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and his executive assistant suggest that he may also have intentionally withheld meeting details from the public. Text of that amendment can be found here.
Beyer also offered an amendment, with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), which would increase funding for the EPA’s Office of the Inspector General, which is continuing a number of probes into Pruitt’s misconduct. Text of that amendment is available here.
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