December 15, 2016 - Latino Leaders Oppose the Confirmation of E. Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

LATINO LEADERS OPPOSE THE CONFIRMATION OF E. SCOTT PRUITT AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, adopted a motion opposing the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), citing his long record working to undermine the environmental protections and enforcement entrusted to this vital agency.
The mission of the EPA and its administrator is to protect public health and safeguard our environment. However, over the past five years, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt has used his position to repeatedly attack crucial clean air and clean water protections to the detriment of the health and well-being of millions of Americans.

As Latino leaders, we have cause to be particularly troubled by this choice. Asthma and other respiratory diseases are more prevalent in Latinos living in inner cities near polluting power plants, truck routes, and factories. Latinos also make up a disproportionately large number of the workers in agricultural field occupations, where they are exposed to health hazards, bad air quality, and economic impacts of extreme weather. Meanwhile, Latino children are more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino white children, and many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise.

"Latinos need strong enforcement of environmental laws to protect our health and economic well-being, and our commitment to ensuring this happens is reflected in NHLA's Public Policy Agenda. Pruitt's nomination is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. If he runs the EPA, Latino and other Americans' lives will be put at risk," said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“Our communities strongly support efforts to reduce air, water, and climate pollution, and we support policies that create well-paying clean energy jobs,” said NHLA Environment and Energy Committee Co-Chair and Hispanic Federation President, José Calderón. “With millions of Americans negatively impacted by air pollution, water pollution, and climate change, we simply can’t afford to have an administrator who doesn’t believe in the value of protecting our environment,” continued Calderón.

“EPA plays an important role in protecting agricultural workers and their families from exposure to pesticides and other toxins. We need an EPA administrator who will work hard to protect the health of the agricultural communities that are a vital part of the social and economic fabric of American rural communities,” said Virginia Ruiz, NHLA Environment and Energy Committee Co-Chair and Director of Occupational & Environmental Health for Farmworker Justice.

Nine in 10 Latinos want action on climate, while 97 percent of Latino voters agree we have a moral obligation to take care of our environment. We now look to the Senate to ensure that the next leader of EPA is someone who will advance environmental and health protections for Latinos and for all Americans.

# # #

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 40 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS