Scott Pruitt to CPAC: 'Heart of Business' Has Changed

Newly sworn-in EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told conservatives Saturday that business at the agency is going to change.

The former Oklahoma attorney general addressed this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). 

He said as he begins to lead the EPA, he wants to make three major changes to process, rules of law, and the idea of "federalism" that is at work within the organization. 

"We're going to pay attention to process," he said. "We are not going to have 'sue and settle'.  We are not going to have consent decrees. We are not going to have to lead the agency through litigation."

He said the agency was going to do the work necessary to make changes. 

"We are not going to bypass lawmaking. We are going to do the work Congress said that we must do to advance those issues," he said. 

Pruitt said they would follow the "rule of law" and abide by the guidelines Congress has set forth. 

"Rule of law matters," he said. "The law provides certainty to those who are regulating."

"Those in industry should know what is expected of them. Those in the industry should know how to allocate their resources to know how to comply with the EPA."

Lastly, Pruitt told the crowd he would put a focus back on the states. 

"I believe the people in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, and New York and California. In all the states across the country, care about the air they breathe and they care about the water they drink and we are going to be a partner with those individuals, not adversaries."

"We are going to be a partner that advances environmental issues and restores the notion of "federalism" that's consistent in our environmental statues," he added. 

"As we look forward to the next four years I think at this point we should recognize that we should have hope and optimism. That we are going to go out and see a trajectory. A new day of freedom," he said. 

Pruitt referenced the positive changes that the Reagan administration made for the United States and likened it to the change that is going to come through the Trump administration. 

"2017 is going to be a time of that will set the trajectory of history into the future," he said. "We're going to restore power back to the people, recognize the regulatory uncertainty, and the regulatory state needs to be reined in. We're going to make sure the states are recognized for the authority that they have and we're going to do work that is important to advance freedom and liberty in the future.