House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) questioning EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel at House Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on shredding of public documents carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency, asks Daniel if it's true that HPW and Transportation Committee investigators were in the room with the shredders. Daniel says he cannot answer because the room in question is under supervision of G. Lucero. Howard asks Daniel if any one person is responsible for what is destroyed on computers or shredding machines; Daniel no. Howard asks Daniel if he really does not know what has been shredded; Daniel again refers the Committee to G. Lucero, EPA Director of Waste Programs Enforcement. Rep. Gene Snyder (R-KY) requests that G. Lucero be sworn in to give testimony; Howard agrees.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) swears in G. Lucero of the EPA to give testimony at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on the shredding of public documents carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency. Lucero states his title as Director of Waste Programs Enforcement. Rep. Howard asks Lucero who knows what documents were or were not destroyed; Lucero says these documents are logged by the Secretary to the Deputy Director, who works for Lucero. Lucero discusses placement of the shredder next to the only copy machine in the office, says the shredder was primarily used to dispose of bad copies. Lucero interviewed staff with access to enforcement-sensitive documents and those who maintained documents subject to the subpoena. Lucero says his employees have stated that to their knowledge, neither they nor anyone else they knew had been shredding any documents subject to subpoena. Lucero says he reminded his staff on multiple occasions that subpoenaed documents were to be preserved and made available, that he has asked members of the Committee’s staff and other members of the EPA’s Solid Waste Department to review available documents. Lucero says President Ronald Reagan has decided upon enforcement-sensitive documents, which have been secured until the situation is sorted between Congress and the President.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
EPA Director of Waste Programs Enforcement G. Lucero continues testimony at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on shredding of public documents carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency; discusses acquisition of shredders due to a request by a separate EPA office wishing to shred sensitive documents not subject to the subpoena, one of which came to be placed in the office of Waste Programs Enforcement. Lucero says there are OWPE documents not subject to the subpoena which are confidential, thus the additional shredder. Lucero points out that a complete set of all the enforcement-sensitive documents subject to subpoena were compiled at great expense to his staff’s time and delivered to the office of Legal and Enforcement Consul, adding that the original documents were then locked away. Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) asks Lucero and EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel if they know the number of documents in question; neither can answer.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) questions EPA General Counsel Robert M. Perry at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on the shredding of public documents carried out by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), asks the number of documents subject to subpoena, citing a number in a New York Times article as more than 700,000 files; Howard also cites prior testimony given by EPA Administrator Anne Gorsuch. Perry confirms there are 780,000 documents subject to subpoena. Rep Howard questions EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel as to why he could not confirm the number of documents subpoenaed; Daniel says he does that the number of documents subject to the subpoena is approximately 787,000, confirms that to his knowledge two documents in question have been locked up and points out a number of subpoenaed documents are within EPA regional offices, not EPA headquarters. Howard states an attorney was able to break into the locked document box, questions whether this attorney was a Federal employee or an independent contractor. Daniel confirms that attorney was an EPA employee.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) questions EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on the shredding of public documents carried out by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency); Howard asks Daniel when he first knew of the shredders, if it was on Thursday or Tuesday; U.S. Representative Gus Savage (D-IL) sleeps in his chair. Daniel says that on Tuesday, staff of a different Congressional Committee asked him if there was a shredder in the office of EPA Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle and what was being done to secure records in Lavelle’s office, saying he advised them that those records had been secured. Rep Howard asks if Daniel ascertained the next day, according to newspapers, that there was no shredder in Lavelle’s office; Daniel says he did not know of shredders in other offices until Thursday of last week. Howard asks Daniel how he ascertained of the shredders; Daniel says on Tuesday he did inquire of the files in Lavelle’s office, was ensured documents sequestered by the EPA Inspector General and being inventoried by persons under the Inspector General’s supervision. Daniel adds he asked if she was a shredder in Lavelle’s office and was told that there was not. Howard asks Daniel if he later found out that there was shredder in Lavelle’s suite of offices; Daniel says there had never been a shredder to his knowledge. Howard comments that all the Committee has to go on is what has been said in the press. U.S. Rep. Robert Young (D-MO) asks for a timeline of all of the events in question. U.S. Rep. Gene Snyder (R-KY) says the majority side of the Committee (Democrats) make copies of the minority’s timeline.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
Committee Chairman U.S. Representative James J. Howard (D-NJ) recognizes U.S. Representative Elliot H. Levitas (D-GA) at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on shredding of public documents carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency. Representative Levitas, holding a cigarette, asks for clarification on where exactly the shredders were located. EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel clarifies the shredders were in the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, and that to his knowledge there was never a shredder in the office or staff offices of EPA Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle. Rep. Howard calls for a 5-minute limit on questions, recognizes U.S. Rep. Gene Snyder (R-KY). Rep Snyder asks if Lavelle had access to a shredder during her time with the EPA; EPA Director of Waste Programs Enforcement G. Lucero says yes.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
U.S. Representative Gene Snyder (R-KY) at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on shredding of public documents carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency, brings into question a memorandum signed by EPA General Counsel Robert M. Perry, regarding a document titled “Response to Congressional Subpoena.” Rep. Snyder quotes a section establishing a log created to keep track of EPA staff members who accessed subpoenaed material; Snyder asks if this log has been kept. EPA Chief of Staff John Daniel points out that Perry’s copy of the memo had been entered into record; Perry finds copy, restates the section regarding the log and describes his office’s logging system. Snyder asks Perry to confirm whether the log in question exists; Perry says the log exists and agrees to submit a copy of the log to the Committee.
House Subcommittee Shreddergate Investigation
U.S. Representative Gene Snyder (R-KY) at Public Works and Transportation Committee hearing on shredding of public documents by the Environmental Protection Agency, continuing line of questioning on memorandum by EPA General Counsel Robert M. Perry. Representative Snyder quotes a section of establishing a procedure for identifying, storing, and logging enforcement sensitive documents.