Stephen L. Johnson (born March 21, 1951 in Washington D. C.) is the current Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Pre-EPA

Education and Career in Industry

Johnson attended Taylor University, receiving a B.A. in biology followed by a master's degree in pathology from George Washington University. Before working for the U.S. Government, he held a number of positions in laboratory and bio-technology companies. He was also the director of Hazelton Laboratories (now known as Covance).

EPA Administrator

He became the acting Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency on January 26 2005. On March 4 2005, President George W. Bush nominated him formally for the permanent position, replacing former administrator Michael O. Leavitt. A 27-year veteran of the Agency, he is the first career employee to hold the position of Administrator and the first scientist to head the Agency. Prior to becoming Administrator, he held several senior-level positions, including Acting Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Acting Deputy Administrator, and Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. He has received the Presidential Rank Award – the highest award that can be given to a civilian federal employee. As Administrator, he manages more than 17,000 Agency employees nationwide and oversees an annual budget of $7.7 billion.

Senate confirmation

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Johnson was criticized for his support of using human subjects in pesticide testing. In April, 2005, a hold was placed on his confirmation vote after he refused to cancel the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, which advocated recording the effects of pesticides on children from infancy to age 3. On April 8, Johnson canceled the study. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on April 29.

Greenhouse gases controversy

Johnson is currently attempting to block the efforts of 17 states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy. He has defended his position by arguing that “The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules. I believe this is a better approach than if individual states were to act alone.” However, the state rules he is blocking are more stringent than the Bush administration's proposed national solution. Johnson came under investigation for allowing the White House to improperly interfere with the decision to grant California a waiver to limit greenhouse gases. The investigation began when it became known that, prior to a series of communiques with the Bush administration, Johnson had planned on granting California the waiver. Johnson has refused to comment on his talks with the White House, and has ignored subpoenas for relevant documents. On May 20, 2008, Johnson was questioned for three hours by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Committee Chair, Henry Waxman (D-CA), said "You have essentially become a figurehead....The president apparently insisted in his judgment and overrode the unanimous recommendations of EPA scientific and legal experts. You reversed yourself after having candid conversations with the White House. On July 29, 2008, four Senators called for Johnson's resignation, alleging he made false statements to Congress.

Johnson's stance on this and other issues was criticized by the scientific journal Nature, which charged him with acting in "reckless disregard for law, science or the agency's own rules — or, it seems, the anguished protests of his own subordinates."

On February 29 2008, four labor unions representing most of the EPA's professional staff published an open letter to Johnson, complaining that he had ignored the EPA's official Principles of Scientific Integrity in advancing Bush Administration positions on water fluoridation, pesticide regulation, mercury emissions, and greenhouse gas control.

References

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2008/2008-05-21-10.asp

External links

Congressional Testimony (Video)

Stephen L. Johnson's biography on the EPA's website

Corruption of EPA chief