WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today questioned Scott Pruitt at his confirmation hearing to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Wicker defended the Oklahoma Attorney General against baseless accusations from Senate Democrats trying to discredit Mr. Pruitt’s nomination.

The Mississippi Senator went on to ask Mr. Pruitt about the negative impact the Clean Power Plan could have on the state’s energy sector and on job creation. Finally, Wicker took aim at the agency’s interim recommendations on lumber standards, which could result in the potential exclusion of wood products from more than 95 percent of the nation’s timberlands, including more than 3.4 million acres of certified forests in Mississippi, in federal procurement projects.

Wicker announced his support for Mr. Pruitt’s nomination after meeting with him earlier this month.