EPW Advances Nominations for Chemical Safety Board and EPA General Counsel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) advanced three of President Biden’s nominees to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), our nation’s premier agency when it comes to investigating industrial chemical accidents, as well as Jeff Prieto, the president’s nominee to serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPW Committee voted unanimously to report the nominations of Stephen A. Owens and Sylvia E. Johnson, and by a vote of 10-10 for the nomination of Jennifer B. Sass. Prieto’s nomination advanced out of the committee by a vote of 12-8. The nominations will now head to the full Senate for consideration.

EPW Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) spoke in support of their nominations leading up to the committee votes.

ON JEFF PRIETO:

“I believe he is an outstanding pick to assist Administrator Regan in leading EPA and keeping its policies and programs consistent with the law. Mr. Prieto has dedicated over 20 years of his distinguished career to public service, serving across multiples departments in the executive branch. At his hearing, he demonstrated the kind of intelligence, the kind of poise, and the kind of forthright commitment to EPA’s mission that will make him an outstanding General Counsel.”

ON CSB NOMINEES:

“I am confident that each of these nominees to the Chemical Safety Board is immensely qualified and committed to making meaningful contributions to the Board’s mission. Taken together, I believe their combined experienced, made even stronger by the diversity of each individual’s contribution, would represent a great step forward for the work of CSB. I am hopeful that they will be confirmed without haste, so they can bring much-needed leadership to CSB.”