STATEMENT BY SENATOR JEFFORDS
NOMINATION HEARING FOR
JOHN PETER SUAREZ
MAY 7, 2002
Good morning. I’d
like to welcome Mr. John Peter Suarez, President Bush’s nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance for the Environmental Protection Agency.
I would like to let everyone know how we will proceed this
morning, then I will recognize Senator Smith for an opening statement and
Senator Corzine, who would like to introduce Mr. Suarez.
Before you begin
your statement, if you would please introduce any family members with you
today. Then you may summarize your
statement, if you would like. Your full
statement will be included in the record.
We will then proceed to questions. After all members have had a chance to ask questions, I will
conclude the hearing by asking you 2 obligatory questions.
For those Committee members who are unable to be here today
or have additional questions, we will forward those questions to you. When the Committee receives all of the
responses, we will act on your nomination.
Mr. Suarez, I am concerned that your legal experience has
not dealt with our environmental laws.
The responsibilities of the position you have been nominated to fill is
a very important one. Our environmental
laws can be rendered meaningless
without adequate enforcement.
While there is some transferability between your criminal
enforcement experience and environmental enforcement, the statutes governing
environmental protection are complex and often require extensive knowledge of
the underlying case law.
With this reservation in mind, I look forward to hearing from you this morning.