Chairwoman Johnson Requests Recovery of Scott Pruitt’s Unethical Travel Costs
(Washington, DC) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on former Administrator Scott Pruitt’s travel costs, wrapping up one of over a dozen federal investigations of the former Administrator’s tenure. The Inspector General (IG) report found that former Administrator Pruitt accrued $123,942 in improper first- and business-class travel accommodations. Furthermore, 16 of the 40 trips analyzed in the report included travel to or stops in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the former Administrator maintained a personal residence and sought to establish a new EPA office.
Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) made the following statement.
“Unfortunately, though former Administrator Pruitt has departed, EPA’s Acting Controller retroactively approved $123,942 in taxpayer dollars that were spent unethically on self-indulgent travel accommodations, though the IG found these approvals insufficiently justified. It is outrageous that current EPA leadership is still attempting to justify the misdeeds of a former Administrator who resigned in disgrace. I urge Administrator Andrew Wheeler to address the remaining recommendations in this report. More than ever, EPA resources are needed to fulfil their mission to protect the health of the American people and the environment, not to support an Administrator’s life of luxury.”
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