Senators press Bush for info on EPA´s actions after 9-11 attack

WASHINGTON (Sept. 10) -- Two U.S. senators have written a letter to President Bush in which they call for additional information about the government´s response to environmental risks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York

In the letter, Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D.-Ct., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., charge that EPA acting administrator Marianne Lamont Horinko has provided them with misleading and deceptive information.

Lieberman and Hillary Clinton sent a letter dated Sept. 9 to the president in which they ask the White House to respond directly to their questions about how the administration handled public announcements regarding air pollution and air quality around Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

The senators previously requested the information after an EPA inspector general´s report last month concluded that the White House edited EPA announcements before they were released to the public to make the statements about air quality at Ground Zero more reassuring. When the EPA announced Sept. 18, 2001 that the air was safe to breathe, it did not have sufficient data and analysis to make such a blanket statement, according to the inspector general´s Aug. 21 report.

The senators said they recently received a response from Horinko that contained selective excerpts from the inspector general´s report, some of which were taken out of context.

In her letter, Horinko defends the agency, saying, "the actions taken by EPA personnel were nothing less than heroic."

"EPA staff reacted quickly to begin air monitoring and worked closely with other federal, state and local agencies to ensure public safety. The air quality data was collected under very difficult conditions and disseminated to the public as quickly as possible," Horinko said.

However, Sens. Lieberman and Clinton called Horinko´s response "inadequate."

Sen. Clinton also has said that until her questions are answered, she will attempt to block a vote on the confirmation of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt as the new EPA administrator.

Neither Horinko nor an EPA spokesman could be reached for comment.