Lawmakers, Environment Groups Praise Bush Choice for EPA Head

by John Fialka, March 7, 2005 President Bush’s choice of Stephen L. Johnson, who spent 24 years climbing the ladder at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to head the EPA was greeted with a rare burst of applause from environmental groups and Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. On Friday, in a break with tradition, President Bush named Mr. Johnson, an expert in regulating pesticides and toxic substances, to be the EPA’s new administrator. In a brief White House ceremony, the president noted that Mr. Johnson, 54 years old, was the first career employee and the first professional scientist to head the agency. The appointment marked the second time Mr. Bush has picked a career official to head a regulatory agency. Last month, he chose the Food and Drug Administration’s acting commissioner, Lester Crawford, to be the agency’s permanent head. Mr. Johnson’s first assignment will give him a taste of what some environmental groups call the worst job in Washington. President Bush asked him to work with Congress to pass the Clear Skies bill, which appears stuck in the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. Clear Skies would impose sharp cuts in power-plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and […]

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