Senate Republicans want chemical agency head removed

Two Republican senators tasked with overseeing the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are asking President Obama to pressure the agency’s embattled chairman to resign.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who leads the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the CSB, wrote to Obama Thursday expressing their concerns with Rafael Moure-Eraso.

{mosads}The letter came a week after a hearing in the House Oversight Committee, the third in a year on Moure-Eraso’s alleged shortcomings.

Inhofe and Rounds joined House members from both parties who have called for Moure-Eraso’s resignation amid allegations that he’s retaliated against whistleblowers, used a personal email account for government work, impeded watchdog investigations and created a hostile workplace for employees.

The senators wrote that investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General and by Congress show that Moure-Eraso “is incapable of executing the important functions for which he was appointed.”

They singled out Moure-Eraso’s private email use as one of the most egregious violations of his tenure, but also said he’s been hostile toward colleagues, leading the agency to be ranked last among places to work in the federal government.

Moure-Eraso’s term at the CSB expires in June, and Obama has nominated Vanessa Sutherland, an attorney at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, to replace him.

But Inhofe and Rounds said that’s not enough and said Obama should ask the chairman to resign immediately.

“Based on the aforementioned findings and statements, there is … no doubt that Chairman Moure-Eraso has lost the confidence of CSB staff, the EPA OIG, and members of both parties in Congress,” they said.

“He has violated his oath of office. He has violated the law. The CSB can no longer continue to operate credibly under this leadership, and it is therefore our recommendation that you ask for Chairman Moure-Eraso’s immediate resignation.”