[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2209-S2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Janet Garvin McCabe
Mr. CARPER. Madam President, the Senate has invoked cloture, and I
just want to thank everybody who supported cloture on Janet McCabe's
nomination to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
I rise now to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of this
outstanding nominee, because Janet McCabe is exactly the leader that
Administrator Michael Regan and the rest of the EPA need right now as
we tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the Agency and in our
Nation's history.
She will do so as one who understands the challenges and
opportunities of working as a director of an air program, within a
State environmental agency, to create a safe, healthy, and nurturing
environment--not just for the citizens of some communities but for all
communities and all ZIP Codes in Indiana, but also for the industry
throughout her State.
I stand before you today, as my colleagues sometimes call me, as a
recovering Governor. I understand how difficult it can be to bring a
genuine interest to hear all points of view, to a job where Agency
actions have consequences in every home and in every business. Perhaps
Janet McCabe's colleague, Fred Cate, vice president of research at the
University of Indiana put it best in an interview in the IndyStar
recently. I just want to quote him. This is what he said:
``The reason she will be great at EPA is the same reason
she was superb here''. . . . ``It's her ability to get people
behind a common vision and get them to do things and not just
talk about them.''
Janet McCabe is a steady hand who has built a 30-year career of
leadership in environmental protection. Her dedication and her know-how
will be invaluable in protecting clean air and clean water, addressing
the climate crisis, and realizing environmental justice for the most
vulnerable among us.
So it is no surprise that she has garnered support from 48 leading
environmental organizations. At the same time, anyone who has worked
with Ms. McCabe knows that she is a hard-working, pragmatic Hoosier to
the core. She works well with Democrats. She works well with
Republicans and with Independents. And that is why she has the public
support of nine former EPA Deputy Administrators and Acting
Administrators, including four Republican former EPA Deputy
Administrators who served in the Reagan administration and who served
in the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush and who served in
the George W. Bush administration.
Her professional experience includes service in both Federal and
State government, and that includes impressive tenures in both Indiana
and Massachusetts government agencies, as well as years of leadership
experience at EPA.
Based on that experience, Ms. McCabe knows that in order for any
Federal Agency to be successful, its leaders must work closely and
collaboratively with State and local partners, no matter which party is
in charge.
Her pragmatic and inclusive style has also inspired support of the
electric power industry. The Edison Electric Institute, which
represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, enthusiastically
supports Janet McCabe's nomination. This is an organization--listen to
this--that speaks for companies that provide power to 220 million
Americans. That is right--roughly two-thirds of all Americans.
Let me put it another way. Edison Electric Institute's members
generate electricity for two-thirds of all Americans, and they have
thrown their support behind the nomination of Janet McCabe for this
post.
According to EEI president Tom Kuhn, he says Janet McCabe ``has a
strong commitment to public service and a solid track record of
engaging with diverse stakeholders, including industry, as demonstrated
by her time at the helm of both the Air Program at the Indiana
Department of Environmental Management and EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation.''
That is a quote.
Ms. McCabe has their support because she has demonstrated time and
again that environmental and economic progress go hand in hand. Let me
say that again. She demonstrated time and again that cleaner air, clean
water, environmental progress, and economic progress go hand in hand.
They are inextricably linked. That ethic has earned Ms. McCabe the
support of the American Chemistry Council, the Association of Equipment
Manufacturers, and the BlueGreen Alliance, which represents some of our
largest labor unions.
Ms. McCabe knows that while working to protect clean air and clean
water and address climate change, the Agency must seize the opportunity
to protect and create good-paying jobs across our country. She
understands that the environmental and climate challenges we face are
not just a problem. They offer economic and competitive opportunity.
President Biden's American Jobs Plan embraces these principles, and
Janet McCabe has the experience and she has the intelligence to work
with her Agency colleagues to translate them into action at EPA.
President Biden's American Jobs Plan embraces these principles, and
Janet McCabe has the experience and the intelligence to work with her
Agency colleagues to translate them into action at EPA.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers put it very well when they
wrote last month, and this is their quote:
Ms. McCabe will bring the leadership and collaborative
spirit needed to address difficult environmental challenges
and improve regulatory processes, and ensure we can continue
to build, power, and feed our country in an innovative and
sustainable way.
Ms. McCabe will help ensure that everyone--everyone who has a stake
in our environment and our economy--has a seat at the table. She has
built a reputation of listening to everyone--everyone--addressing real
economic concerns, making sure government policy helps people and
communities at the local level.
Ms. McCabe embodies these values in her current role as director of
Indiana University's Resilience Institute, where she works every day to
help mayors and to help farmers and communities of all sizes and shapes
prepare for and adapt to climate change.
I will borrow once again from Janet McCabe's colleague from the
University of Indiana, Fred Cate, who said of her career success, and I
quote him again:
``She understands that at the end of the day, if you don't
bring along finance and industry and local buy-in, then we
won't get things done.''
I couldn't have said it better.
As Deputy Administrator, Janet's role will be the equivalent of a
chief operating officer. She will be primarily focused on EPA internal
policies and procedures--the day-to-day running of the Agency--and will
not play a significant role in crafting new public policies.
One of her key tasks will be to restore the Agency's organizational
health, which suffered during the previous administration, as respect
for science and career staff advice declined and morale deteriorated.
There is no person better suited to overseeing this internal
restoration than Janet McCabe. Under her leadership I have every
confidence that EPA will recover and soar.
I am very grateful that Janet has agreed to serve her country again
in this new leadership role, and I am grateful to her family for their
willingness to share her again with all of us.
[[Page S2210]]
Her personal integrity and work ethic is an inspiration to all public
servants, and her willingness to engage all points of view is a boon to
all who have strong interest in EPA's work.
So in closing, I want to urge my colleagues--all of our colleagues--
to vote to confirm her today so that she can put her robust talents to
work for all the American people.
With that, I yield the floor.