Hearings to examine the road ahead, focusing on proposals to improve America's transportation infrastructure.

Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure

2025-07-23

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This hearing considered the nominations of Catherine Scarlett to serve as Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Jeffrey Hall to serve as Assistant Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)[ 00:19:43-00:19:51 ] . Chairman Capito expressed strong support for Scarlett, highlighting her qualifications and contributions, while Ranking Member Whitehouse voiced significant skepticism regarding Hall's nomination, accusing the administration of aiming to dismantle environmental enforcement[ 00:26:41-00:27:38 ]

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Catherine Scarlett's Nomination for CEQ Chairman

Catherine Scarlett's nomination was widely supported due to her extensive background in environmental policy and permitting[ 00:21:40-00:21:52 ]

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. Her current role is CEQ Chief of Staff, and she has previously held senior positions at CEQ and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council[ 00:21:44-00:22:19 ]

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. Notably, her tenure on Senator Capito's staff contributed to bipartisan provisions in key infrastructure and environmental legislation[ 00:22:21-00:22:40 ]

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. Scarlett stated her motivation to lead CEQ stems from the recognized need across all government branches to reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. She committed to faithfully implementing new environmental review reforms passed by Congress, including specific time limits for Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Assessments (EA). She also discussed CEQ's efforts to modernize environmental review processes through initiatives like the CE Explorer, which helps identify categorical exclusions.

Jeffrey Hall's Nomination for EPA OECA Assistant Administrator

Jeffrey Hall’s nomination faced considerable opposition, primarily from Ranking Member Whitehouse, who characterized it as an attempt to cripple EPA enforcement[ 00:26:46-00:27:38 ]

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. Whitehouse questioned Hall's environmental enforcement experience, citing his law firm bio and limited time in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) at the Department of Justice (DOJ). He accused Hall of weakening enforcement by narrowing the focus on methane emissions and coal ash, and pointed to several high-profile case dismissals linked to political donors, such as the GEO Group and the Passaic River Superfund settlement. Whitehouse also cited proposed budget cuts to EPA and DOJ enforcement divisions as evidence of a broader strategy to undermine OECA.

Mr. Hall defended himself against these accusations, asserting his commitment to enforce environmental laws and hold bad actors accountable. He claimed that statistics indicated an increase in civil and criminal case conclusions under the current administration. Regarding the GEO Group case, Hall stated he was not involved in the decision and became aware of political donations only after the dismissal, which he attributed to career officials based on legal risks and facts. He committed to Superfund enforcement and cooperative federalism, emphasizing focusing on clear and significant violations. Hall also stated he would act impartially and enforce the law appropriately, aiming for compliance rather than just punitive actions[ 01:02:54-01:04:10 ]

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. However, he would not make blanket commitments to avoid policy considerations in enforcement decisions[ 01:03:17-01:03:23 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The meeting's tone was notably divided based on the nominee[ 00:19:11 ] . Discussions regarding Catherine Scarlett’s nomination were generally positive and supportive, with Chairman Capito and other senators commending her qualifications and dedication to NEPA reform[ 00:21:40-00:23:20 ]

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. Conversely, the dialogue surrounding Jeffrey Hall’s nomination was highly contentious and adversarial. Ranking Member Whitehouse and Senators Schiff and Markey expressed profound skepticism and strong opposition, directly accusing Hall of undermining environmental enforcement and raising concerns about political interference[ 00:26:41-00:27:38 ]

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. Mr. Hall maintained a defensive yet professional demeanor, consistently reiterating his commitment to legal enforcement and denying political motivations in his decisions.

Participants

Transcript

Good morning, everybody, and I'd like to call this hearing to order and thank everybody for being here.  It's a busy day on Capitol Hill.  As you all know, Wednesdays are exceedingly busy, and this one is no exception to that.  At this hearing, we'll consider the President's nomination of Catherine Scarlett to serve as Chairman of the Council on Economic Quality and Jeffrey Hall to serve as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance   at the Environmental Protection Agency.  So thank you both for the willingness to serve.  I want to give a special welcome to Catherine's family.  Catherine, I know because she and I have worked together, her husband Brian and her parents are here today.  So thank you for joining us.  And I know that Jeffrey has his parents and his wife here with him today.  So thank you all for coming and being supportive.  Established by the National Environment Policy Act, also known as   NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ as we call it, is part of the executive office of the president.  The agency is primarily responsible for advising federal agencies on the implementation of NEPA and as well as developing and recommending environmental policies to the president.  Catherine is very well qualified to lead CEQ.  In her current role as CEQ's chief of staff,   Catherine has supported the efforts of federal agencies to implement the bipartisan Federal Responsibility Act and ensure compliance with recent court decisions as agencies update their individual NEPA regulations and procedures.  She also led efforts to modernize environmental review and permitting processes through President Trump's Permitting Technology Action Plan, recently launching the CE Explorer, which allows the easy identification of more than 2,000 categorical   exclusions established by federal agencies.  During the time of the first Trump administration, Catherine served in senior roles at CEQ and also at the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
In the four years between her service in the executive branch, Catherine served on my staff here at EPW, playing a key role in shaping bipartisan provisions in the   the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Economic Development Reauthorization Act, and the America's Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act.  So thank you for that.  As my colleagues know, Ranking Member Whitehouse and I are diligently working on bipartisan legislation to reform the environmental review and permitting processes for all projects.  I'm hopeful we can get a bill to the President's desk for his signature.  And when we do, I'm confident that it will be implemented faithfully   under Catherine's leadership at CEQ.  Today, we will also hear from Jeffrey Hall.  Thank you, Jeffrey, for being here.  President Trump's nominee to lead the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  OECA works with EPA regional offices in partnership with state governments, tribal governments, and other federal agencies to promote regulatory compliance and enforce the nation's environmental laws and regulation.   The office targets the most serious water, air, and chemical pollution violations under the laws such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and the Toxic Substance Control Act.  In carrying out the EPA's statutory authority, OECA must operate within the confines of our federal environmental laws, not invent novel violations to penalize regulated entities.  The previous administration placed an outsized emphasis on penalizing regulated   entities rather than working with good faith actors in the regulated community to ensure compliance.  Mr. Hall will be tasked with striking the right balance between the agency's efforts to encourage compliance with our environmental laws and targeting the entities flaunting those laws to ensure Americans   have clean air, clean water, and clean land.  Mr. Hall's professional experience gives him the expertise to effectively lead this office.
He has worked as a litigator, a prosecutor, and legal advisor representing federal agencies, corporations, and individuals in a wide variety of litigation and in both criminal and civil enforcement procedures.  I look forward to hearing how Mr. Hall will navigate the agency's enforcement and compliance priorities today.   So with that, I will now recognize our ranking member, Senator Whitehouse, for his opening statement.
Thank you, Chairman.  As President Trump continues his unchecked parade of corruption today, we consider nominees for positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  I've said before and will say again, as the EPA lays waste to longstanding science based regulations, dismantles the agency,   and otherwise betrays its commitment to the American people to protect clean air and clean water, every single nominee for EPA merits a healthy dose of skepticism.  Jeffrey Hall is being nominated for a post where the job, in theory, is to enforce the law against major polluters.  In this administration, the intent seems to be to have no one policing the polluters, no accountability for polluters, no accountability for failing to keep within air or water permit limits,   No accountability for even failing to get a permit in the first place.  That's how you nullify a body of law without having to go through the procedure of rolling back each permit limit or standard or go through the legislative work of repealing the underlying statute.  Crippling enforcement is the fast track way to do President Trump's dirty work as proposed by Project 2025, dismantling EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, OECA.

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