Ed Markey And EPA Head Lee Zeldin Continuously Interrupt Each Other During Fiery Exchange

Forbes Breaking News

During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) questioned EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin  about the agency's freezing of congressionally appropriated funds.

Transcript

00:00Senator Markey, you are recognized.

00:07Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:13Just want to get to this crocodile care concern, which the Trump administration has, the oil

00:20and gas boys have, about the greenhouse gas program.

00:28The Green Bank and the Solar Bank, you know, they're both programs that are very effective,

00:34but being stopped by this administration.

00:38I just wanted to point out the $170 billion of fossil fuel giveaways that are already in

00:45the pipeline for the Trump administration for the fossil fuel industry.

00:49Meanwhile, we had the Green Bank and the Solar Bank, which is a grand total of $27 billion,

00:56which McKenzie says is going to unleash $250 billion worth of private sector investment.

01:05Meanwhile, the richest industries in the world are getting $170 billion worth of giveaways,

01:11royalty relief, tax breaks, over the very same period of time.

01:16I don't hear anybody saying that we should be taking those breaks away from the oil and

01:22gas and coal industry.

01:25They just want to kill the competition, wind, solar, all electric vehicles, anything that

01:31would be reducing the need for oil and gas in our country.

01:35So that's, unfortunately, the state of affairs that we have with this administration at this

01:43point in time.

01:44They're terminating the very programs meant to face the challenges that are being presented

01:51on a nightly basis on every television station in America of these tornadoes, these violent

01:56storms that are intensifying.

01:59So let me just move to the bank and what the administration has been saying and doing.

02:11In a recent study, we can see that it's going to save a lot of money, a lot of funding for

02:22families across our country if we move in that direction.

02:27You have decided, Mr. Administrator, to carry out a baseless witch hunt against the Green

02:37Bank and against the Solar Bank.

02:40These funds have been frozen now for months.

02:43And we already know what you're going to say, that there was, quote, rampant waste fraud

02:47and abuse and conflicts of interest.

02:50When the district court judge asked if EPA could offer any evidence of a violation of

02:56a federal criminal law, your lawyer responded, I cannot do so, your honor.

03:03Are you willing to admit here today, Mr. Administrator, that you don't have any evidence of waste,

03:08fraud, and abuse?

03:09I'm happy to go through the list.

03:12Would you like me to, Senator?

03:13Why was that evidence not presented in court?

03:15If you have it.

03:16Oh, it was.

03:17I'll do it right now.

03:18You ready, Senator?

03:19You want me to?

03:20I could go through the entire list right now.

03:22Would you like me to?

03:23Why was it not presented?

03:24Do you want it?

03:25I'm going to do it.

03:26I'll start.

03:27Let's see how far down the list you'll let me go before he cut me off.

03:29It was asked yesterday.

03:30It was a Biden EPA official cut me off before the first example of evidence.

03:34It was asked in court yesterday.

03:36Do you want to know the evidence, Senator, or not?

03:39When your lawyer was asked to present it before a federal district court judge yesterday, there

03:42was no evidence.

03:43The Biden EPA official says now it's not allowed to get the money out as fast as possible before

03:46the Trump administration comes in.

03:48It's like we're on the Titanic and we're throwing gold bars off of the edge.

03:52I'll give you another example.

03:53I'm going to give you an example.

03:54Appalachian Community Capital.

03:55I'm going to reclaim my time, Madam Chair.

03:59I can't go through the evidence.

04:01I'm going to reclaim my time.

04:03Madam Chair, please bring this hearing to order.

04:05It's not a court.

04:06Okay.

04:07Yeah.

04:08You've said that-

04:09You want to declare there's no evidence, but you don't want me to go through the list

04:13of evidence.

04:14You've said that there are grants that are unqualified recipients.

04:16You've said-

04:17Yes, let me talk about it.

04:18The EPA hunt for shady deals and gold bars.

04:20And yesterday, yesterday in federal district court, your lawyer defending a lawsuit by groups

04:26that want access to their own funds, which this Congress appropriated, said repeatedly

04:31that the EPA was not claiming there has been any violation by any of these groups.

04:38That's your lawyer yesterday in court.

04:41And I quote-

04:42I'm standing right in front of you.

04:43You have the EPA administrator right here offering to go through a list of evidence,

04:46and you're saying you don't want me to go through it.

04:48Your lawyer was in court yesterday-

04:50Biden panel reviewing an application-

04:51And your lawyer said-

04:52Your lawyer said-

04:53A non-profit coalition-

04:55Here's what your lawyer said to a judge yesterday-

04:57Your lawyer yesterday, Mr. Roth said, I am not accusing anyone of fraud.

05:04You can filibuster this, Mr. Zeldin, but you can't run from the truth.

05:11Your lawyer yesterday said in court, I am not accusing anyone of fraud.

05:15The gentleman's time has expired.

05:16But you keep using-

05:17The gentleman's time has expired.

05:18You keep using this inflammatory language-

05:19The gentleman's time has expired.

05:20Without any evidence-

05:21The gentleman's time has expired.

05:22Being presented in court in order to defend these public accusations you make-

05:26Wasted your entire five minutes without allowing me to answer-

05:28The gentleman's time has expired.

05:32The chair recognizes, Mr. Zeldin.

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