U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe is using his position as chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to question the legal authority for Albert Stanley Meiburg to be serving as acting deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency while his nomination is still pending before the U.S. Senate.
In a letter to Gina McCarthy, administrator of the EPA, the Senator said it is a violation of the Vacancies Reform Act for Meiburg to be doing the duties of acting deputy administrator.
“It was not until December 18, 2015, that Mr. Meiburg submitted his completed nomination paperwork to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. EPW Majority staff have requested potential dates when Mr. Meiburg would be available to testify at a hearing to consider his nomination, but no dates have yet been provided,” said the Senator in the letter.
He pointed out how the Vacancies Reform Act also restricts certain officials from temporarily filling a vacancy in an acting capacity when they also have been nominated to permanently fill the vacancy.
“A recent decison by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, finding the nominee for the position of General Counsel at the National Labor Relations board had improperly filled the same position on an acting basis, has prompted scrutiny of officials who are currently acting in the positions to which they have been nominated,” Inhofe wrote.
See letter.
See letter
