All three members of Vermont's congressional delegation are calling on the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to resign, because they say that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has failed to protect the nation's environment and they charge that Pruitt has engaged in unethical conduct while in office.
Rep. Peter Welch said Pruitt has "gutted the EPA's core mission" to protect national air and water quality standards.
But what really upsets Welch are some of Pruitt's possible ethical violations.
These include renting a condo that was owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 a night, building a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office and billing the government for questionable travel expenses.
"Ethical issues, they're the ones that are really quite unacceptable. Whatever side of the issue you are on, don't rip the taxpayer dollars off for your own convenience and comfort." — Rep. Peter Welch
"Ethical issues, they're the ones that are really quite unacceptable," said Welch. “Whatever side of the issue you are on, don't rip the taxpayer dollars off for your own convenience and comfort.”
Welch is co-sponsoring a resolution that calls for Pruitt's resignation, and Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders are also co-sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate. The proposal charges that Pruitt "has failed to faithfully discharge the functions of that office."
While a majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate support the plan, it's unlikely that Republican congressional leaders will bring the bill up for discussion.
