They might have been at odds when it came to politics and the environment, but Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe offered fond comments about former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in a report on accomplishments of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
It was a report for the EPW committee in the 114th congress, a committee that he chaired until the start of the new congress.
“Finally, I want to mention and thank my dear friend, the now retired Senator from California who sat at the EPW dais for many years,” said Inhofe. “While Sen. Boxer and I often did not see eye-to-eye, she and her staff were instrumental to many of the committee’s victories in the last two years.”
Inhofe will continue as a member of the committee but it is now under the chairmanship of Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming.
In his report, Inhofe cited bills that originated in the committee including the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act which became law.
“For the first time in 20 years, Congress rewrote and enacted a new major environmental statute which provides regulatory certainty for manufacturers, improves public confidence in the safety of chemicals and promotes innovation,” wrote Inhofe. He referred to the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.
Inhofe couldn’t let his report finish without criticism of the Environmental Protection Agency and former President Obama.
“The EPW Committee was committed to conducting rigorous oversight of the EPA, stopping job-killing regulations and holding the Obama administration accountable for the harmful effects of its legacy-oriented climate agenda.”