Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after hundreds of former Environmental Protection Agency employees called for a congressional probe into the agency’s attacks on California:

“Today, 593 former EPA officials sent a letter calling for a congressional investigation into whether agency leaders inappropriately threatened California.

“I couldn’t agree with these individuals more: Enforcement actions must be fair and impartial and should never be used as political weapons to advance a partisan agenda or punish a particular state.

“According to EPA records, at least six states – Ohio, New York, Iowa, Missouri, Texas and Indiana – have more pollution violations than California in the past three years. In fact, no site in California is on the EPA’s top 10 list of worst polluters.

“Yet California has been singled out for increased enforcement by the administration. These attacks started after four automakers rebuffed the administration and signed an agreement with California to produce cars with lower emissions.

“Congress must investigate any political motivations behind EPA’s actions. I’ve also called for two inspector general investigations into actions taken by EPA Administrator Wheeler. We need to know all of the facts.”