Bachmann – Fla. EPA
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Rep. Michele Bachmann has drawn a bead on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, demanding its abolition in a Republican candidates debate and dubbing EPA “the job killing agency of America.”
But that hasn’t stopped the Minnesota congresswoman from applying for EPA grants and funding of state programs. A Freedom of Information Act request by the Huffington Post yielded some surprising correspondence.
In February of last year, Bachmann wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, requesting that EPA support a $270,806 grant application designed to help a St. Cloud, Minn., bus company replace two older motor coaches.
“Voigt’s Bus Service, with Community Transportation, Inc., is committed to bringing long-term benefits to the environment and the economy and they wish to accomplish this through the Clean Diesel Grant Program,” Bachmann wrote.
Bachmann, as a first-term House member, co-signed a 2007 letter asking for more assistance from the “job killing agency.”
The letter urged the EPA to assist in funding rural water initiatives and technical assistance programs “in small communities across Minnesota.” The letter, signed by most of Minnesota’s congressional delegation, noted that EPA had set aside $11 million in funding for the National Rural Water Assn.
On the stump seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Bachmann has become a scathing critic of environmental protection and an outspoken climate change skeptic.
&&&&&&&&&&&
First, let’s look at the facts. Sam Stein reports on Huffington Post that Bachmann made two requests to the EPA. The first one was in February 2007. Bachmann co-signed then a letter to the EPA urging its officials to help fund technical assistance programs and rural water initiatives “in small communities across Minnesota.”
The authors of the letter, which included nearly the entire Minnesota congressional delegation at the time, noted that FY 2006 funding for the National Rural Water Association had been set at $11 million. “We need to continue these efforts in 2007,” they wrote.
The second request was made in a February 2010, when Bachmann wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, asking the agency “to support a $270,806 grant application (filed with the EPA’s Clean Diesel Grant Program) that would help a St. Cloud bus company replace two older motor coach vehicles.”
Bachmann wrote in her letter: “Voigt’s Bus Service, with Community Transportation, Incorporated, is committed to bringing long-term benefits to the environment and the economy and they wish to accomplish this through the Clean Diesel Grant Program.”
Now, there’s nothing strange about these letters. They look like they have been written by a dedicated lawmaker who wants to help her constituencies. What’s strange is the fact that the same person said the following on the GOP debate last June:
What we need to do is pass the mother of all repeal bills, but it’s the repeal bill that will get at job killing regulations. And I would begin with the EPA, because there is no other agency like the EPA. It should really be renamed the job-killing organization of America.
The contradiction between Rep. Bachmann’s February 2010 letter and candidate Bachmann rhetoric is obvious. According to the letter the EPA actually has programs that benefit not only the environment but also the economy, helping businesses thrive and creating jobs. According to the rhetoric this organization is a job killer.
&&&&&&&&&&&
| Grant ID Number: | EM – 97455702-3 | ||
 |
|
|
|
| EPA Region: | EPA R4 | AAShip: | R4 – Region 4 |
| Division/Office: | Water Protection Division | Lab/Office: | |
| CFDA: | 66.202 | Media: | Multi-Media |
| Grant Program: | |||
| Authority: | |||
|
|
||
| Recipient Name: | FL Osce Co – Osceola County Board of County Commissioners | ||
| City: | Recipient Type: | County | |
| State: | FL | Cong District: | 08 |
|
|
DUNS: | 07-2537657 |
|
|
|
|
| Competition Status: | |||
| Award Date: | 03/11/2009 | Cum Award: | $598,700 |
| Project Start: | 09/01/2002 | Project End: | 06/30/2009 |
| Grant ID Number: | X7 – 96433105-3 | ||
|
|
|
|
| EPA Region: | EPA R4 | AAShip: | R4 – Region 4 |
| Division/Office: | Water Protection Division | Lab/Office: | |
| CFDA: | 66.436 | Media: | Water |
| Grant Program: | |||
| Authority: | |||
|
|
||
| Recipient Name: | FL Osce Co – Osceola County Board of County Commissioners | ||
| City: | Recipient Type: | County | |
| State: | FL | Cong District: | 08 |
|
|
DUNS: | 07-2537657 |
|
|
|
|
| Competition Status: | |||
| Award Date: | 12/01/2010 | Cum Award: | $2,881,000 |
| Project Start: | 10/01/2005 | Project End: | 03/31/2012 |
To view the complete and formatted article, click “READ MORE” now. . .
