Speaker 1: It's the day after the election, and we're live. Welcome
Speaker 1: to a special episode of Parts per Billion. We'll be
Speaker 1: breaking down how everything that went down last night will
Speaker 1: affect environmental policy in twenty seventeen and beyond. Hello, and
Speaker 1: welcome to Parts Pervilion. I'm your host, David Schultz. This
Speaker 1: episode may sound a little different than the ones we've
Speaker 1: done in the past, because, as I mentioned at the top,
Speaker 1: we are live. If we make a mistake or mispronounced
Speaker 1: someone's name, or just sneeze or something like that, can't
Speaker 1: edit that out. Sorry anyway. It's a little after eight
Speaker 1: thirty on a Wednesday, November seventh, a day after a
Speaker 1: pretty significant election. I'm joined here with my environmental reporter
Speaker 1: colleagues Brian Dabs and Rachel Eleven. Thanks for being here, guys.
Speaker 1: For the next few minutes, will be breaking down what
Speaker 1: the results will mean for the future of environmental policy.
Speaker 1: Rachel will be talking about the congressional races and the
Speaker 1: makeup of the new Congress. Brian will be talking about
Speaker 1: who will be heading up the e p A and
Speaker 1: other federal agencies under President to be Donald J. Trump. So, Brian,
Speaker 1: let's start with you. You wrote a story a few
Speaker 1: days ago about who would be the head of the
Speaker 1: e p A under Trump and the headline with list
Speaker 1: for EPA chief short under Clinton Trump list unclear? Is
Speaker 1: the head of the next ep A will will that?
Speaker 1: Is that still unclear? And if so why? Yes, David,
Speaker 1: I think it's very much unclear. Veteran old hand uh
Speaker 1: environmental policy makers and and advocates for industry and environment
Speaker 1: here in d C have really only kind of conjured
Speaker 1: up a few names that could be potential e p
Speaker 1: A administer or picks under a Donald Trump administration. Those
Speaker 1: are mostly drawn from his transition team, which from an
Speaker 1: environmental standpoint, is led by Myron Ebel. Myron Ebel Myron Ebell,
Speaker 1: who is the director of the Center for Energy Environment
Speaker 1: at the conservative think tank the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Myron
Speaker 1: Ebel has been around watching in DC for a long time,
Speaker 1: and a lot of climate change advocates refer to him
Speaker 1: very derisively, sometimes using the catchphrase climate change denier in chief.
Speaker 1: Mister Ebel did not respond to our request for comments
Speaker 1: during during my reporting. There are some other names in contention,
Speaker 1: although the list, as as you said, is very limited.
Speaker 1: One you know a few of these candidates. Andrew Wheeler,
Speaker 1: who is a consultant now part of the transition team
Speaker 1: as well. Under email, he's he's a Capitol Hill veteran.
Speaker 1: Used to work for the Senate Environment Public Works Committee.
Speaker 1: He did work on a lot of fundamental infrastructure, energy
Speaker 1: environmental priorities on on Capitol Hill, and he did kind
Speaker 1: of usher through some energy bills related to renewable fuel standards,
Speaker 1: diesel missions, and then just a wide range of wide
Speaker 1: range of kind of legislation that that is always a
Speaker 1: priority on the Hills, such as the Water Resources and
Speaker 1: Development Act, which is currently being conferenced or is poised
Speaker 1: for formal conference once Congress reconvenes. So if if Congress
Speaker 1: doesn't polish off that legislative work, maybe look to an individual,
Speaker 1: an individual like that to kind of kind of helped
Speaker 1: shepherd it through. Under a Trump administration, another name Mike
Speaker 1: cantazarro Uh, he was a top advisor of the Bush
Speaker 1: Cheney administration on energy environmental policy. Also also steepedon experience
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill. And I think important to remember though
Speaker 1: that Donald Trump has emphasized that he supports clean air,
Speaker 1: clean water, and these you know, these these core priorities
Speaker 1: for environmental advocates, although the I think most observers, most
Speaker 1: veterans kind of largely think that that pool, that recruiting pool,
Speaker 1: or that orbit of environmental experts is limited due to
Speaker 1: his due to his rhetoric when it comes to environmental policy,
Speaker 1: He's said that he wants to in various ways scrap
Speaker 1: dismantle the EPA, but he has also kind of hedged
Speaker 1: that recently and said that he wants to keep at
Speaker 1: least some of it intact. So there are a few names.
Speaker 1: It sounds like email maybe has the inside track, but
Speaker 1: it sounds like it's it's a very uncertain situation. Given
Speaker 1: how uncertain it is, how uncertain it is, is it
Speaker 1: possible that we could see a vacancy at the head
Speaker 1: of the EPA for an extended period of time, And
Speaker 1: if so, what would that mean for the agency's functions
Speaker 1: day to day. It's a very interesting question. I don't
Speaker 1: know any reason to believe that that is a big
Speaker 1: threat the There are these names in contention, and and
Speaker 1: as as a quick side, I know there are you know,
Speaker 1: a multitude of e p A career officials that will
Speaker 1: that will help shepherd the agency through the transition, you know,
Speaker 1: the final days of the Obama administration, as well as
Speaker 1: the people who work, you know, for an administration, regardless
Speaker 1: of of the what party it is, non political appointings, correct,
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean if he wants to fill these vacancies,
Speaker 1: because he will, he will overhaul the agency from a
Speaker 1: personal standpoint, certainly, So if he wants to fill these agencies,
Speaker 1: I think what that really comes down to is Senate confirmations.
Speaker 1: The new Hampshire Senate race right now is still up
Speaker 1: in the air undecided at this point according to the
Speaker 1: Associated Press and other reliable evaluators of races. But the
Speaker 1: Democrats really only picked up one seat so far, and
Speaker 1: that is Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, meaning Republicans will have
Speaker 1: a modest majority. Typically you need sixty votes to confirm nominees.
Speaker 1: There is a possibility that there could be some rule
Speaker 1: changes that would modify that, but it's far too early
Speaker 1: in the game to speculate about that. And then thinking
Speaker 1: about the Obama environmental legacy, you know, there are a
Speaker 1: few things that sort of come to mind off the
Speaker 1: top of your head, you know, clean Power Plan, the
Speaker 1: Waters of the United States rule implementing the New Taska legislation,
Speaker 1: the Paris Climate Agreement. What are will Trump be able
Speaker 1: to kind of roll back any of those measures or
Speaker 1: will it be easy or difficult for him to I
Speaker 1: guess nullify or just I guess take the teeth out
Speaker 1: of those Obama environmental legacies. So the agency regulatory action
Speaker 1: could be rolled back relatively easily under a Trump administration
Speaker 1: e p A. Uh you know, wotis or waters the
Speaker 1: United States. The Clean Water Rule is still waiting through litigation.
Speaker 1: That could be put on the chopping box fart as
Speaker 1: well as the Clean Power Plan. Uh TASCAR reform was
Speaker 1: was passed with really impressive bipartisan support, led by you know,
Speaker 1: uh setting an EPW chairman Jim Enhoff. There's I haven't
Speaker 1: heard any speculations that that would be something that would
Speaker 1: be put on the chopping block as well. Now the
Speaker 1: Paris Agreement is a whole different story, and he's talked
Speaker 1: about he's talked uh very explicitly about scrapping that. The
Speaker 1: way he would go about doing that I think is
Speaker 1: is you know, up for debate. Certainly, he could withdraw
Speaker 1: from the from the ninety ninety two Climate Convention that
Speaker 1: that kind of provided the fame the framework for the
Speaker 1: for the Parish Deal to be uh to be signed.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a provision for parties to withdraw, and
Speaker 1: then he could also just abandon and ignore the the
Speaker 1: emission reduction targets. So he you know, I think we
Speaker 1: are right now in on charied territory, but he would
Speaker 1: likely have a lot of latitude in that respect. So uh,
Speaker 1: the White House and the President elect Trump will not
Speaker 1: be the only factor in determining whether or not Obama's
Speaker 1: environmental legacy survives. There's also the matter of Congress. Rachel,
Speaker 1: do you think that given that, you know, Republicans now
Speaker 1: still control the Senate, still control the House, have relative
Speaker 1: still to have a relatively healthy margin in the House,
Speaker 1: maybe not so much in the Senate as much as
Speaker 1: they used to. Do you think that Congress will have
Speaker 1: a say and we'll be able to roll back or
Speaker 1: I guess, mitigate some of the signature Obama environmental achievements. Sure. So,
Speaker 1: I think that one thing that is very unique about
Speaker 1: energy policy for the upcoming setup of a Republican controlled
Speaker 1: White House and Congress is that Donald Trump essentially took
Speaker 1: the traditional energy Republican energy plan and put it as
Speaker 1: his platform for energy development. So it's one of the
Speaker 1: areas where there's really not disagreement between House Republicans, Senate Republicans,
Speaker 1: and Donald Trump. It's an area where really they could
Speaker 1: build probably unifying momentum and pretty easily do. So that's
Speaker 1: really interesting because there were a lot of places where
Speaker 1: you know, the president, I guess the candidate Trump broke
Speaker 1: with the Republican Party and broke with the Republican orthodoxy.
Speaker 1: But it sounds like what you're saying is energy an
Speaker 1: environment is not one of those places that on that issue,
Speaker 1: he has a pretty standard Republican platform. Yeah. I mean
Speaker 1: the House Republicans especially and some Senate Republicans have taken
Speaker 1: stances that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration's
Speaker 1: actions through other environmental agencies such as the Interior are
Speaker 1: truly government overreach. So they have been on the case
Speaker 1: of the EPA and the Interior Department for years, in
Speaker 1: hearing after hearing and bill after bill. And the fact
Speaker 1: that now they have a president in the White House
Speaker 1: who agrees or will have a president in the White
Speaker 1: House who agrees with that, actually gives them a lot
Speaker 1: of latitude to move forward on changing the dynamics of
Speaker 1: climate action as well as energy development on federal lands.
Speaker 1: There are also going to be some new faces on
Speaker 1: Capitol Hill. Maybe not so much members of Congress turning over,
Speaker 1: but new chairman of really key committees, new ranking members
Speaker 1: of key committees. Let's break it down for a start off.
Speaker 1: In the Senate, the Senate Environment of Public Works Committee
Speaker 1: will have a new chairman, a new ranking member. Is
Speaker 1: that right? Do you have to have the right, yes.
Speaker 1: So the most important thing to remember there is that chairman.
Speaker 1: Current Senator in Hoff who's the chairman of the committee,
Speaker 1: is term limited under Senate Republican term limits, which I
Speaker 1: believe is about six years, and so he is stepping down.
Speaker 1: The next senior Republican would have been Senator Vitter, but
Speaker 1: Senator Vitter is no longer going to be in the Senate,
Speaker 1: and so that leaves Senator Barrasso. Senator Barras. He's from
Speaker 1: New Mexico, right, No, well s a Brasso. Where Brasso's from? Why? Wyoming?
Speaker 1: Brassos from the great state of my eye. That was
Speaker 1: a test. I was just making sure to see if
Speaker 1: you knew that he was from Wyoming. I of course
Speaker 1: knew that, oh, of course as well. I'm glad I passed.
Speaker 1: So Senator Barrasso has a pretty clear track record of
Speaker 1: standing against the Obama administration on issues such as the
Speaker 1: Air Clean Water Rule and really calling out the Obama
Speaker 1: administration for overreach. So it'll be interesting to see how
Speaker 1: that will play. And it seems like Senator Carper will
Speaker 1: be interested in being the ranking member on the Democrat side,
Speaker 1: and he'll be taking over for Senator Barbara Boxer, a
Speaker 1: longtime Senator from California who will be retiring. And let's
Speaker 1: move to the Senate Energy Committee's what's happening with that,
Speaker 1: So that's a really interesting committee At this moment. Senate
Speaker 1: Energy Committee will continue to be led, likely by Senator
Speaker 1: Lisa Murkowski as well as ranking member Senator Can'twell. Both
Speaker 1: of their offices had told us in days leading up
Speaker 1: to the election that should the Republicans retain the majority,
Speaker 1: that both of their senators would be interested in remaining
Speaker 1: in those positions. They have a really strong track record
Speaker 1: of working well together and compromising, and that means more
Speaker 1: legislation and more thoughtful legislation moving out of the committee,
Speaker 1: which is a key factor. But there's also the idea
Speaker 1: of the energy bill, the major energy bill that is
Speaker 1: currently being in conference between the Senate and the House
Speaker 1: that's in play. I believe it's S twenty twelve, and
Speaker 1: the idea that the Republicans retained the majority means that
Speaker 1: the Democrats don't necessarily have that additional leverage that they
Speaker 1: were hoping for in potentially the compromise negotiations for the bill,
Speaker 1: and we can probably expect the S twenty twelve to
Speaker 1: move forward largely as is in the conference. When it
Speaker 1: comes out of the Conference committee, then that'll be during
Speaker 1: the lame duck. You think that the Democrats will want
Speaker 1: to get that pass during in the lame duck to
Speaker 1: avoid a more in a conservative environment in the next Congress.
Speaker 1: I think, you know, honestly on both sides. For both
Speaker 1: Senator Murkowski and Senator camp Well, both of them have
Speaker 1: been very dedicated to getting this through this session no
Speaker 1: matter what. But one interesting thing that one of Senator
Speaker 1: Murkowski's former aids was telling me in the lead up
Speaker 1: to this election is that Senator Murkowski may revisit some
Speaker 1: of the things that are already in this current Senate
Speaker 1: energy bill, which is an interesting idea that she It
Speaker 1: makes clear that she really did compromise. She thinks that
Speaker 1: they need to take a second look, for example, at
Speaker 1: permitting reform. But it also clears her agenda to look
Speaker 1: at other issues that she thinks are needing to be addressed,
Speaker 1: such as Western water issues. Let's move over to the
Speaker 1: House Energy and Commerce. What is happening with that committee?
Speaker 1: Where are there any big shifts in line there? So
Speaker 1: the current chairman is Congressman Fred Upton. He has reached
Speaker 1: his term limits and will be not seeking a waiver.
Speaker 1: He will be stepping down as chairman. And there are
Speaker 1: three individual Congressmen who are vying for that spot or
Speaker 1: who have expressed interest in that spot. The front runner
Speaker 1: is Congressman Shimkiss and his main contender is Congressman Walden,
Speaker 1: although Congressman Barton from Texas, who previously who's considered Chairman emeritus,
Speaker 1: has also received confirmation from the House leadership that he
Speaker 1: can uy for that spot as well and receive an exception.
Speaker 1: So that's going to be a really competitive race. I
Speaker 1: guess to look at in the months and weeks ahead
Speaker 1: about who you know who among these three congressmen can
Speaker 1: receive this The chairmanship of this committee and who the
Speaker 1: leadership of their party backs. That'll be really interesting. Natural Resources,
Speaker 1: how is that shaping out to be? How Natural Resources Committee?
Speaker 1: That is a committee where the status quo is pretty
Speaker 1: much going to remain. I mean, Congressman Bishop recently took
Speaker 1: helm of that committee this past session. I believe he
Speaker 1: still has plenty on his agenda that he had previously
Speaker 1: expressed that he would like to get passed, and some
Speaker 1: of which some of the areas that he had wanted
Speaker 1: to pass legislation, those pieces of legislation weren't necessarily amenable
Speaker 1: in the Senate or they didn't stand to get a
Speaker 1: signature from the president. So really a President Trump could
Speaker 1: mean more action for their committee. Additionally, Ranking Member Gorhalva
Speaker 1: from Arizona was also new to that committee last session
Speaker 1: and very much is passionate about this issue and wants
Speaker 1: to stay on the committee. All right, well, it'll be
Speaker 1: fun to watch how this all plays out in the
Speaker 1: weeks ahead. But thank you both for coming out and
Speaker 1: chatting with me so early in the morning, and we
Speaker 1: will be back in two weeks with another episode of
Speaker 1: Parts per Billion.