F. Chase Hutto II, a senior aide to Vice President Cheney and a staunch opponent of environmental regulation, is a leading choice to become a top official at the Department of Enery (DOE), according to a recent Washington Post report.
The report sources current and former administration officials, who say Hutto played a prominentrole in shaping the Bush administration’s environmental policies for several years–policies that are currently under attack by states and environmentalists, seeking greaer protection for air and water quality.
Environmentalists say the promotion of Hutto to the post of assistant secretary for policy and international affairs would signal the administration’s continued resistance to new environmental protections.
Hutto would be in charge of forming department policies on climate change.
Jason K. Burnett, who served as the Environmental Protection Agency’s deputy associate administrator until his resignation in June, said of Hutto: "He always struck me as being naturally and philosophically opposed to regulation at the outset, and it took an enormous amount of discussion and analysis to convince him otherwise." He added: "I can’t think of a case where Chase advocated more environmental or health protections."
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