(Host) Senator Jim Jeffords is calling for a special investigation to determine if the Bush administration deliberately misled members of Congress about changes to the Clean Air Act.
Jeffords says a new report issued by the General Accounting Office shows that several administration officials told Congress that the president’s proposal would not affect ongoing litigation against Midwestern power plants.
But the GAO report shows that internal memos by the administration reach a very different conclusion.
(Jeffords) “I’m deeply depressed by the report that we’ve gotten back because we suspected this all along. But now, to have it definitely pointed out by a federal agency that looked into this, is very, very disturbing. Because we’re talking about thousands of lives here that are being lost because of the activities of these power plants.”
(Host) Jeffords says the report shows that the Bush administration is putting profits for the utilities ahead of public health:
(Jeffords) “To say that people would deliberately kill people to save money for power companies, but that’s what it kind of gets down to. But that seems impossible to believe, but I’m beginning to realize that it’s probably true.”
(Host) Jeffords and Senator Patrick Leahy have formally requested that the office of Inspector General in the Environmental Protection Agency conduct a full investigation into these charges.