Two Democrats are putting pressure on top EPA chemicals officers to voluntarily extend expiring guardrails meant to protect against conflicts of interest.
Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Jeff Merkley of Oregon sent a letter Thursday to the four highest-ranking officials in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) urging them to indefinitely extend their respective “cooling off” or recusal periods, the window of time where new government officials are legally restricted from interacting with their former clients.
OCSPP Assistant Administrator Doug Troutman came from the American Cleaning Institute, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Nancy Beck and Deputy Assistant Administrator Lynn Dekleva held jobs with the American Chemistry Council, and Deputy Assistant Administrator Kyle Kunkler was a lobbyist for the American Soybean Association.
The officials’ recusal periods began expiring in January, as POLITICO’s E&E News reported earlier this month.
