Republicans are prodding the Environmental Protection Agency over its plans to embed agency employees in countries in an effort to help other nations meet the requirements of the international climate change deal President Obama agreed to last month.
The lawmakers say the plan raises questions over how many employees will be sent and how much it will cost the U.S. taxpayer.
They also ask whether the EPA has the authority to do this, given the non-binding nature of the Paris deal and that it was never approved by Congress, according to a draft of a letter slated to be sent Thursday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy ahead of the Republican retreat.
McCarthy discussed the effort in detail a week ago during a policy discussion at the Council on Foreign Relation in Washington.
“Reports indicate that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to embed U.S. federal employees in [United Nations] participating countries to monitor progress towards the COP 21 commitments” made Dec. 12 in Paris, the letter states. It asks for more information on how many employees will be shipped to other countries and for how long, and how much would it cost.
The letter was led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who sits on three House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittees. The letter also includes the three chairmen of respective subcommittees, including: Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy, R-Penn., Environment subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas.
“It is alarming to hear that the administration plans to deploy American employees around the world to carry out a non-binding agreement,” Rep. Mullin said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
He also raised the issue of placing agency employees in harm’s way if sent overseas, and the need for a plan to guard against unforeseen dangers.
“Security risks arise anytime we deploy personnel outside of the country. We need to make sure there is a plan to keep our employees safe and secure,” he said in an email.
But overall, the letter “is straightforward,” he said. It spells out what the lawmakers want to know on the cost of sending “our government employees overseas to enforce a program that Congress never even approved.”
The Washington Examiner
reported on McCarthy’s comments last week.
“We have actually detailed folks working with State [Department] to different countries to actually embed people there who can teach this, to get professional expertise there,” McCarthy said Jan. 7.
EPA spokeswoman Melissa Harrison told the Examiner the State Department is leading the effort. She added that the Paris agreement establishes “a new system applying to all countries, along with the recognition that some developing countries need support and assistance for implementation of the agreement.”
