Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today about the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be the Deputy Administrator of the EPA--an extremely important position.

Mr. Wheeler's expertise and experience make him extraordinarily qualified to become the Deputy Administrator. I am a little biased when it comes to Mr. Wheeler because he has great family roots in the State of West Virginia, which, to me, is a good recommendation in and of itself. I think his wealth of knowledge over the years working on environmental policy in the public and in the private sectors is just incredible. His knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset to the Agency and to the American people. He understands--watching policy being made and helping policy being made himself but also then transitioning to the private sector and watching how that policy then influences the private sector as well. He has had an active hand in significant environmental--energy--and infrastructure policy achievements and debates and probably some of the failures that we have had, as well as the confirmation of numerous Presidential nominees. So Andrew will have a head start. He will hit the ground running, and that is what we need at the EPA.

Andrew was also tasked with coordinating and working with the various agencies within the committee's jurisdiction. Most importantly, he has been and was tasked with this, so he worked with other agencies while he was a staffer.

Beginning in 2009, Mr. Wheeler went into the private sector, continuing his work in environmental and energy policy. Throughout his career, he has worked with individuals and stakeholders who run the political gamut, and he has left a very positive impression on them.

During his confirmation hearing in our EPW Committee, he was very forthright in his answers, very willing to look deeper into certain areas, and very willing to not express an opinion if he didn't really know or was unsure of some of the details. Actually, I think he exhibited a real curiosity as to how he could make the EPA run smoother and better and be more reflective of what the President and we here in the Senate and people across this country see as a vision for the EPA.

I have also been impressed by the number of individuals who know Mr. Wheeler and who have come forward and spoken about his expertise and his willingness to collaborate on issues all across the country. He has had an active role in my State of West Virginia, which is a high energy-producing State.

I urge my colleagues to vote to confirm Mr. Wheeler. They will have no regret. I look forward to working with him at the EPA on issues that are important to my State of West Virginia and across the country.

I yield back.

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