Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse is firing off letters to a number of groups and companies about the administration’s intention to dramatically scale back action against climate change.
The Rhode Island Democrat wants to know how the groups and companies may have influenced EPA’s decision to roll back an Obama-era scientific finding underpinning Clean Air Act rulemaking against greenhouse gas emissions.
“If the proposal is finalized, it would hand massive benefits to polluting industry actors and their enablers, allowing them to reap billions in profit while shifting the burdens of climate disasters onto the American families, businesses, and taxpayers,” Whitehouse said in a statement.
Whitehouse’s request for documents went to groups like the American Petroleum Institute and the America First Policy Institute, a think tank tied to President Donald Trump. Companies include Shell and Toyota.
