"The Environmental Protection Agency is likely to prevail in a tense stalemate with its internal watchdog unless Congress decides to take up the fight, law scholars say.
Short of hoping that the House or Senate summons EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson, at the center of the dispute, and forces him to testify, the Office of Inspector General has little real power, said Paul Light, a professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service who studies inspectors general.
“But whether they would do that, I just don’t know,” Light said. “It’s pretty small beer.”
The OIG is accusing Jackson of failing to fully cooperate with an audit and investigation over various matters, including claims that he told Deborah Swackhamer, former chairwoman of EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors, to change her testimony before a May 2017 hearing of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Congress could also strike funding for Jackson’s position, according to Light."
Stephen Lee reports for Bloomberg Environment November 8, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"EPA Watchdog Rebuts General Counsel on Top Official’s Audit Help" (Bloomberg Environment)
"EPA: IG, Top Lawyer Clash Over Chief Of Staff Ryan Jackson" (Greenwire)
