[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1912-S1913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Brenda Mallory
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, the Senate has now invoked cloture on the
nomination of Brenda Mallory, President Biden's nominee to serve as the
Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. First, let
me just say thank you. I want to express my thanks to--and I am sure,
on behalf of Brenda Mallory--53 Senators who voted in favor of cloture
so that we can move forward and now debate her nomination. We thank
each Senator who cast that supporting vote. But I rise in support of
Ms. Mallory's nomination to this important position. This is a position
a lot of folks have never heard of, but it is a hugely important one.
And I urge our colleagues to now join me in supporting, in
confirmation, a highly, highly qualified nominee as well.
The Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality--or
CEQ, as we call it--may not be the first position many Americans think
about when they consider consequential Presidential appointments. But
it is a crucial body--critical body--with considerable sway over our
Nation's health and environment.
One of my mentors was a Republican named Russ Peterson, a great
leader of the DuPont company for many years, Governor of Delaware, and
later served as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental
Quality during the administrations of both Richard Nixon and Gerald
Ford.
Governor Peterson used to refer to his role as Chair at the Council
on Environmental Quality as similar to that of an orchestra leader, an
orchestra conductor. He said: You don't play the instruments as the
Chair of the CEQ, but you try hard to ensure that everyone in the
orchestra is playing in harmony. The CEQ Chair coordinates action
across the entire government in order to ensure that Federal Agencies
are working in harmony and that every Federal decision advances the
objectives of economic growth, of better public health, and of stronger
environmental quality.
While CEQ Chairs do work much like an orchestra leader, a conductor,
to achieve harmony across Federal Agencies, they must also pursue
balance. That balance includes at least three components: one, growing
our economy; two, ensuring a just and healthy society; and, three,
protecting our environment for current and future generations. Those
are the clear objectives of CEQ as laid out in the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, known as NEPA, the landmark law that
created CEQ, often referred to as ``the Magna Carta of environmental
laws.''
According to its six pages of statute, NEPA's purpose includes--and I
am going to quote--``efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to
the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of
man.'' I would add ``and woman.'' NEPA enshrines democracy by giving
the American people a voice to help decide the fate of Federal
decisions. For 50 years, NEPA has sought to ensure environmental
protection, public health, and the notion that the American people
should have a say in the Federal decision-making process that affects
their lives.
Like our Constitution, NEPA is one of our Nation's most enduring and
replicated laws. The same principles of democracy and citizen
participation enshrined in our Constitution are also enshrined in NEPA.
Sadly, the Trump administration's CEQ largely walked away from the
tenets of this 50-year-old law, issuing drastic rollbacks that
undermine much of its very mission. Instead of advancing the CEQ's
three objectives--one, a more productive economy; two, a healthier
society; and three, a cleaner environment--the previous administration
sadly repeatedly compromised public health and environmental quality
for the sake of less redtape.
So one of the many tasks ahead for the next CEQ Chair will be to get
us back on track--to harmonize our efforts to address the climate
crisis, safeguard public health, and ensure that
[[Page S1913]]
we are treating others the way we want to be treated. If that sounds
familiar, it should because that is the Golden Rule, which is found in
every major religion on this planet.
There are few people as well qualified to tackle this challenge as
Brenda Mallory. I believe that she is the kind of experienced,
dedicated public servant that we need to lead CEQ at this critical
time, not just for the Agency but for our Nation.
Ms. Mallory is a deeply committed public servant with extensive
experience under both Democratic and Republican administrations. No
stranger to CEQ, Ms. Mallory served there for a number of years after
an impressive tenure of more than a decade at EPA, including under
President George W. Bush. She has earned respect from both sides of the
aisle, and, as the former General Counsel for CEQ, she already knows
the Agency inside and out.
Her experience and her reputation as a collaborative, pragmatic
leader help to explain why she has garnered broad bipartisan support
among environmental leaders who have served before her. Get this--13
past Republican CEQ and EPA appointees, including a former CEQ Chair,
and 4 different Republican EPA Administrators have publicly praised Ms.
Mallory and urged her confirmation. Now, that doesn't happen every day,
as the Presiding Officer knows. But among those former Republican EPA
Administrators who have urged her confirmation are these: Bill Reilly,
Christine Todd Whitman, Michael Leavitt, Stephen Johnson, and James
Connaughton.
Ms. Mallory has also earned the support of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. I will say that again. Ms. Mallory also earned the support of
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--and a whole bushel of environmental
groups across this land.
She has represented business interests in the past as an attorney in
private practice, so she understands the importance of timely and well-
coordinated environmental reviews, which are crucial for getting
investments in telecommunications and in infrastructure off the ground.
Ms. Mallory's expertise will be critical to the task that lies ahead.
In addition to restoring balance at CEQ and its mission, the next Chair
at CEQ will address a number of pressing crises facing our Nation
today. Let me mention some of them. They include the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, and they include the worst economy since the Great
Depression, as well as the enduring problem and challenge of racial
injustice. All three--all three of these crises are compounded by a
fourth, and that is the climate crisis.
We have no time to waste. We must tackle the climate crisis with
conviction and with urgency. My home State of Delaware, which I am
privileged to represent, certainly cannot wait any longer. We happen to
be the lowest lying State in America. Our State is sinking, and the
seas around us are rising.
This is felt by other States across the country too. Climate change
is an issue that hits red States and blue States alike. Our colleagues
John Neely Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, from Louisiana, tell me that
Louisiana loses--get this--a football field of wetlands to rising sea
levels every 100 minutes.
Let me mention that again. Louisiana loses a football field of
wetlands to rising sea levels every 100 minutes. In another part of the
country, the midwestern part of the country, last year, hurricane-force
winds flattened over half--over half of the corn and soybean crop in
Iowa, literally in the span of about a week, maybe even in a span of
about a day.
Out on the west coast, wildfires raged across California as big as
the size of Rhode Island, while floods in Florida damaged homes, and
roads and deadly ice storms a month or two ago left millions in Texas
stranded without power or water.
Natural disasters and extreme weather don't discriminate; they impact
all of us. Brenda Mallory knows this. She understands the gravity of
the situation and the immense challenge she has ahead of her, should
she be confirmed. I know she is ready to seize the opportunity ahead of
her in this role.
She also knows that the laws we write and decisions we make can
affect who faces the brunt of the consequences. For too long,
communities of color have disproportionately suffered from our
environmental policies. From chemical contaminants in drinking water to
toxic air pollution from our roads and our factories, our most
marginalized citizens are too often exposed to environmental public
health risks and left behind by our investments and policies.
We need to work to improve environmental outcomes for all Americans--
all Americans. Brenda Mallory at the helm of CEQ can play the
leadership role that is needed in addressing environmental justice and
meeting the challenges of climate change in a way that will lift up all
communities and achieve a brighter, more equitable future for each one
of them.
As we address the crises we face, we have an opportunity to improve
people's lives today and for future generations. To do that, we need
principled, enlightened leaders. We need leaders who are humble, not
haughty; leaders who have the heart of a servant and understand that
their job is to serve, not be served; leaders who unite, not divide;
leaders who build bridges, not walls.
I am confident that Brenda Mallory is just that kind of leader. She
will bring integrity. She will bring honor and humility to her role
just as she has done in her decades of service to this country. As
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, she will be a leader who
brings people together to form lasting solutions to the challenges that
we face today.
With that in mind, I strongly urge each of our colleagues to join me
in supporting her confirmation. I thank again those who voted for
cloture a few minutes ago.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee