From ABC News, 5/18/07:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/update_exepa_ch.html
Justin Rood and Maddy Sauer Report:
Ex-EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman abruptly reversed herself Friday
and agreed to testify before Congress on her agency's response to the
environmental fallout of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Two days ago, Whitman's lawyer Joel Kobert had denied a request from a
House panel chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., for his client to
testify, noting she was named in two lawsuits related to the issue.
But today, Whitman herself told Nadler in a hand-delivered letter that
she was willing to participate in a hearing "if you insist."
Nadler had originally invited Whitman to testify at a May 22 hearing.
In a press release today announcing Whitman's decision, Nadler said he
would reschedule Whitman's hearing to a date "in the near future."
On Sept. 18, 2001, then-EPA head Whitman released a statement
declaring the results from air monitoring tests in New York showed
"their air is safe to breathe."
Nearly two years after the attacks, the EPA's inspector general
concluded that assurance and others were based on insufficient
information.
The report also said that EPA press releases were softened under
pressure from the White House.
Multiple studies have documented health problems amongst 9/11
emergency responders and workers.
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Harry
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