EPA Boss Defends Budget Request Against GOP Challenge on Waste

EPA Administrator Michael Regan parried Republican skepticism during a hearing that the billions of dollars the agency recently got in the climate bill, as well as the 19% increase it’s requesting in its fiscal 2024 budget plan, is being spent wisely.

The grilling during the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday echoed concerns from the EPA’s own inspector general that pushing too much money out the door too quickly significantly raises the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.

To illustrate her concerns, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), top Republican on the panel, pointed to a $3 billion ...