Scott Pruitt and the end of EPA overreach

Since President-elect Donald Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to be the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, extremists have attempted to malign him as anti-environment. It’s time to set the record straight.

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Since Republicans took control of the House and Senate in 2011, President Barack Obama circumvented Congress and used his agencies to create policy he could not get passed by the people’s representatives. The EPA has been one of the worst offenders, sometimes even stepping outside its authority to impose on states a regulatory regime that Congress explicitly rejected.

That’s why I joined with Pruitt and a bipartisan majority of attorneys general to oppose Obama’s Clean Power Plan. It’s why I’ve joined numerous other lawsuits against the EPA, many led by Pruitt. Our opposition was not founded in any antagonism toward the environment. Instead, it was out of fidelity to the law and Constitution, which forbid these top-down mandates on the states.

As stewards of the environment, it is our responsibility to protect it and ensure that we leave it in great condition for years to come. However, the environment should be protected through sound regulation and laws that are responsible, predictable and accountable.

Scott Pruitt is deeply respected in Oklahoma and among his colleagues nationwide for his integrity, intellect and knowledge of constitutional law. It is exactly these qualities that are necessary to rein in an out-of-control EPA and focus it on its original mission of working with states and at the direction of Congress to protect our air, water and land.

Sadly, the EPA has become an agency synonymous with ineffective policies that stall our energy and manufacturing production and delay much-needed job growth. Scott Pruitt knows the EPA has a critical role to play in ensuring we all benefit from a cleaner environment. He also knows that there is an essential role for Congress and the states, and that new regulations must be weighed against the costs they impose on our economy and pocketbooks.

I look forward to continuing to work with him to protect the rule of law and reform the EPA.

This story was originally published January 2, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Scott Pruitt and the end of EPA overreach."