Pallone Voices Concern About Potential Conflicts of Interest on Eve of EPA’s Toxic Chemical Rules

Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt today raising serious concerns about the conflicts of interest of Dr. Nancy Beck, a former American Chemistry Council lobbyist who now serves as EPA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). 

In her new role at EPA, Dr. Beck appears to be in charge of finalizing the framework rules to implement the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the Twenty First Century Act (Lautenberg Act), which is intended to regulate Dr. Beck’s former employers in the chemical industry.  The final rules for implementation of the Lautenberg Act are expected to be published tomorrow on the one year anniversary of enactment of the law.

“I am writing today on the eve of the one year anniversary of the enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the Twenty First Century Act with deep concern over your personnel and implementation decisions,” Pallone wrote to Administrator Pruitt.  “In particular, the recent appointment of Dr. Nancy Beck as deputy assistant administrator in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and the role she appears to be playing in finalizing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rules threaten the success of the TSCA Reform legislation passed last year.” 

Prior to working for the American Chemistry Council, Beck worked for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the George W. Bush administration.  During that time, a Congressional report cited Dr. Beck’s efforts as evidence of the White House staff rewriting science.  The report concluded that Dr. Beck attempted to alter the EPA assessment of a highly toxic class of chemicals, downplaying the risks associated with the harmful chemical class.

Dr. Beck’s new role overseeing implementation of the Lautenberg Act poses serious conflicts of interest concerns.  Earlier this year, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) requested information from the Trump administration on any waivers that had been granted to personnel with potential conflicts of interest such as Dr. Beck’s history of lobbying on behalf of the industry she is now charged with regulating.  The EPA responded to OGE with no responsive records.

“This leads me to conclude that Dr. Beck is inappropriately involved in finalizing rules that will have a clear and direct impact on her previous employer, or that EPA has inappropriately responded to the Office of Government Ethics with no responsive records,” Pallone continued in his letter to Pruitt.  “Either explanation directly threatens the integrity of this program and the public’s confidence in the rules that will be finalized tomorrow.” 

In response, Pallone is requesting from Administrator Pruitt   any and all ethics agreements and waivers related to Dr. Beck’s position and documentation of all changes made to the Lautenberg Act rules since Dr. Beck’s started work at EPA.

Pallone led House Democratic efforts to pass the Lautenberg Act last Congress.

Full text of the letter can be found below:

June 21, 2017

The Honorable Scott Pruitt

Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20460           

Dear Administrator Pruitt,

            I am writing today on the eve of the one year anniversary of the enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century with deep concern over your personnel and implementation decisions.  In particular, the recent appointment of Dr. Nancy Beck as deputy assistant administrator in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and the role she appears to be playing in finalizing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rules threaten the success of the TSCA Reform legislation passed last year.  Her appointment has the potential to undermine the scientific integrity of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) TSCA implementation and the consumer confidence we sought to build with a reformed TSCA.  The final rules I expect to be published tomorrow will show whether she has been allowed to impose her former employer’s positions on the public. 

Dr. Beck comes to the EPA from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade association representing the chemical industry.  She has existing and potentially problematic relationships with the companies that she is now in charge of regulating.  In fact, Dr. Beck testified on behalf of ACC at a Senate hearing on the use of science at federal agencies just one month before she was selected for the EPA job.  

Before joining ACC, Beck worked in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the George W. Bush administration.  Beck’s time at OMB was marked by controversy over her role in weakening EPA’s risk assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (or PBDEs), a highly toxic class of chemicals that was widely used as flame retardants but has since been phased out.  A Congressional report  cited Dr. Beck’s efforts as evidence of White House staff rewriting science.  The report concluded that Dr. Beck attempted to alter the EPA assessment on PBDEs so as to “enhance uncertainty or reduce the profile of the effect being discussed”, downplaying the risks associated with this harmful chemical class.  This history deepens my concerns.

In her new role, Dr. Beck oversees implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century, legislation that originated in my Committee and was passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion last Congress.  If implemented well, this new law will provide the American public with much-needed confidence in the safety of the products we use and rely on every day.  Dr. Beck herself acknowledged the need to ensure that “the Act achieves the fundamental objective of improving public confidence in the federal regulatory system.”   As Dr. Beck testified, without public trust, “stakeholders can lose confidence in regulatory decision making, which in turn can lead to product de-selection that is not supported by science, unwarranted public alarm and unnecessary costs.”  

However, Dr. Beck’s role in finalizing the TSCA framework rules is not transparent.  On April 28, 2017, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a data call for certain waivers and authorizations to the White House Chief of Staff, Agency Heads, and Designated Agency Ethics Officials, Inspector Generals, and Appointees.   On May 17, 2017, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney asked OGE to stay this request,  in an apparent effort to hide from the American people information about whether current administration appointees are complying with ethics requirements.   On June 7, 2017 the OGE released responsive documents provided by agencies, EPA responded to OGE with no responsive records.  

This leads me to conclude that Dr. Beck is inappropriately involved in finalizing rules that will have a clear and direct impact on her previous employer, or that EPA has inappropriately responded to the OGE with no responsive records.  Either explanation directly threatens the integrity of this program and the public’s confidence in the rules that will be finalized tomorrow.  I therefore request, immediately,

• All ethics agreements, recusals, memoranda of understanding or other pertinent documents that detail the issues on which Dr. Beck is permitted to work and those on which she is prohibited to work.
• Documentation of all changes made after Dr. Beck started work at the EPA to the preambles and rule texts for the framework rules to be finalized tomorrow, including previous versions of those texts.
• Dr. Beck’s Public Financial Disclosure Reports and any supplemental materials.
• A list of all issues Dr. Beck has worked on, is allowed to work on, and is prohibited from working on.
• The statutory hiring authority and type of appointment occupied by Dr. Beck (i.e. Senior Executive Service, Schedule C, Administratively Determined).

Thank you for your assistance with this request. Should you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Cohen with the Minority Committee Staff at (202) 225-4407.

Sincerely,

Frank Pallone, Jr.

Ranking Member

###