Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Whitehouse Condemns Trump's Corrupt, Costly Pro-Polluter Executive Actions

President’s first actions include major giveaways to Big Oil at the expense of families, our planet, and our future

Washington, D.C.—Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s torrent of executive actions that reward big polluters while jeopardizing the health and safety of communities, raising costs for American families, crippling America’s clean energy future, and exacerbating the climate crisis.  

“Trump’s Day One agenda has made his priorities clear: polluters first, Americans last.  On the presidential campaign, Trump asked for a billion dollars from his Big Oil buddies in exchange for giveaways, and they’re cashing in now,” said Ranking Member Whitehouse. “The fossil fuel industry benefits from more than $700 billion a year in subsidies in the United States alone, so these polluters have a vested interest in making sure they get to keep poisoning our air, water, and climate for free.  They’ve built an entire political apparatus to shield their profits, and these executive actions are just one part of it.  The American people need to watch their wallets: the looters and polluters are looking to get even richer, and they’ll sell out working families, the planet, and our collective future to do it.” 

On his first day, President Trump signed executive actions to: 

• Review EPA’s 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and the environment, potentially teeing up an attack on the foundation of EPA’s authority to regulate the pollution that is driving climate change and thereby creating severe economic risks to the U.S. economy.
• Dramatically reduce the value of the social cost of carbon and potentially eliminate its use entirely.  This would make it impossible for the government to accurately consider the costs associated with carbon pollution.
• Favor the expansion of fossil fuel production—including drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and increasing exports of liquified fossil gas—while withdrawing support for domestic clean energy.  Declaring a “national energy emergency” is a giveaway to Big Oil that enables the administration to bypass environmental protections and poison the planet while doing little to lower Americans’ gas prices. 

• Withdraw the from the Paris climate agreement, undermining global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.  This forfeits U.S. leadership on climate safety and clean energy and cedes power to China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to dictate the pace and rules of clean energy development. 

• Arrest offshore wind development.  By halting offshore leasing and permitting, President Trump hamstrings a clean energy competitor to his fossil fuel allies at the expense of American consumers, workers, and a burgeoning domestic manufacturing base.    

Lay the groundwork for weakening vehicle emissions standards, raising costs for families.  Rolling back emissions standards will accelerate greenhouse gas pollution, cost Americans an average of $6000-$8000 more on fuel and maintenance over the lifetime of a new car, harm public health, and weaken the American automobile industry’s global competitiveness.  Attempting to revoke California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act to set even tougher emissions standards is yet another legally dubious gift to Big Oil at the expense of consumers and the environment.