EPA head , climate denierandoil shillScott Pruitt has reportedly shell out thousands to prevent leaks from the Environmental Protection Agency , including$3,000 spend to swing out his officefor recording bugs . bonk for his fiercely frugal stance on regime spending , Pruitt ’s counter - surveillance measures since his check in January also include a 24 - time of day surety detail , costing upwards of$800,000,biometric lockscosting $ 6,000 , and a soundproof phone cubicle for classified sound calls , costing $ 25,000 .
As first report by The Hill , leaked documents reveal the EPApaid $ 3,000 toEdwin Steinmetz Associates to search Pruitt ’s office for “ covert / illegal surveillance devices”in March , only two months after his confirmation . mirror Donald Trump ’s presidentship , Pruitt ’s full term as EPA administrator has mostly been defined by a feeling that , under Obama , the agency massively overstepped its bounds when make environmental regularisation . To foresee this overreach , Pruitt supports both regulative push back and monolithic cuts to the agency ’s budget , setting a“back - to - rudiments agenda”for the agency .
His belief that the EPA require to cut down on spending , however , is contrasted by an unprecedented apparent need for security .
In July , Huffington Post uncover Pruittspent $ 830,000on a 10 - humans , round - the - clock security measure detail , a first for any EPA decision maker . His predecessor , Gina McCarthy , had a detail ofsix to eight agent , only during public appearances and international travel . The same calendar month , Pruitt endedtaxpayer - funded gym membershipsfor all EPA employees , saying it was cogent evidence of Washington ’s bloat . Myron Ebelll , who led Trump ’s modulation squad for the EPA , toldtold E.E. Newsthe security item was necessary : “ I suppose it ’s prudent given the continuing activity by the left to foment hatred , and the report hostility within the authority from some unprofessional militant . ”
likewise , Pruitt has suggested concerns about frivolous disbursement areprompted by “ an alt - EPA”of EPA employees appoint by Obama . Last workweek , Mother Jones reported that Pruitt ’s EPAawarded a no - play $ 120,000 contractto a media monitoring house call Definers Public Affairs . Not only had the firmmonitored news coverageand track journalists , The New York Times report , but one Definers executive had been investigating current EPA employees . The day after the Times narration broke , Definers announce it and the EPA had adjudicate “ forgo”the contract .
According to EPA spokespeople , Pruitt ’s security measures are necessary because his foe are legion . That does n’t intend he has n’t drawn internal scrutiny . Last week , the EPA ’s inspector general confirmed it will enquire Pruitt’s$25,000 soundproof booth . The Huffington Post reports the EPAalready hasa soundproof phone kiosk , just on another level .
If Pruitt wants to increase security to ward off legitimate threats , that ’s fine . But blaming radical leftists for his own high-sounding disbursal while at the same time blaming Obama for previous overspending is disdainful . commit thousandsof dollars to leak - proof the EPA as vital environmental justice and climate change research gets defunded is both insulting and deadly .
[ APviaE&E News ]
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