House Republican appropriators narrowly shot down a Democratic amendment to hold Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt accountable for his travel expenses.
[Related: EPA bought 12 customized pens for $1,560]
Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., offered the amendment on Wednesday during an Appropriations Committee mark-up of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for fiscal 2019.
The rider had broad support by Democrats on the committee, but the GOP called the amendment politically motivated and came together to vote it down. The amendment was struck down 26-21 in a party-line vote.
The introduction of the Quigley rider marks one of the first times an amendment has been brought up to address Pruitt’s multiple travel expenses and use of EPA security for his own private excursions and vacations.
The rider “simply requires transparency,” said Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “This is not unique, new, or political in any way,” she said.
The amendment would require EPA to create a travel log for the administrator, which must be made known within 10 days after the head of the EPA travels anywhere.
Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee, called it a “politically motivated amendment.” He explained that such requirements would pose undue restrictions on Pruitt that no other Cabinet-level official has had to endure.
McCollum listed the numerous trips that Pruitt has taken that are now under investigation by congressional committee or the agency’s own inspector general.
She cited Pruitt’s trip to Morocco last year that was planned by a lobbyist, the use of EPA security for his own personal trips to basketball games and Disney Land, and a visit to the Vatican where he dined with a cardinal facing sex abuse charges and later attempted to hide the meeting.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that Pruitt used his executive aide to arrange a talk with the president of fast-food chain Chick-fil-A to discuss a franchise deal for his wife. A former federal ethics official under the Obama administration told the newspaper that the use of a government-paid employee in an activity aimed at self enrichment would be a violation of federal ethics laws.
