Gina McCarthy

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Gina McCarthy
Gina McCarthy official portrait.jpg
13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
In office
July 18, 2013 – January 20, 2017
President Barack Obama
Deputy Stan Meiburg (Acting)
Preceded by Bob Perciasepe (Acting)
Succeeded by Scott Pruitt
Personal details
Born Regina McCarthy
1954 (age 62–63)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Kenneth McCarey
Children 3
Education University of Massachusetts,
Boston (BA)
Tufts University (MS)

Regina "Gina" McCarthy (born 1954) is an American public administrator and an environmental health and air quality expert, and former administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[1][2] On March 4, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated McCarthy to replace Lisa Jackson as head of the EPA.[3] Confirmation hearings started April 11, 2013.[4] On July 18, 2013, she was confirmed after a record 136-day confirmation fight, becoming the face of Obama's global warming/climate change initiative.[5][6][7]

Early life and education[edit]

A native of Boston, McCarthy graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1976, as a Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology. She later attended Tufts University, and from there she gained the further degree of Master of Science in Environmental Health Engineering and Planning and Policy in 1981.[8][9]

Career[edit]

Visiting a Missouri farm in 2014

A longtime civil servant, McCarthy held the position of assistant administrator of the U.S. EPA from 2009 to 2013. Prior to 2009, she was commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 2004–2009. She has held several top positions in the civil service of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including deputy secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development in 2003–2004 and undersecretary for policy for Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs in 1999–2003.[9]

McCarthy has worked on environmental issues at the state and local levels and has developed policies on economic growth, energy, transportation and the environment.[8] In her twenty-five years in public administration, she has been an environmental advisor to five Massachusetts governors, including former Governor Mitt Romney. From 2004 to 2009 she was commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. In this capacity she implemented a regional policy to trade carbon credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.[5]

EPA Administrator[edit]

According to some observers, Obama's selection of McCarthy confirms that he is serious about battling climate change. Daniel Fiorino, director of the Center for Environmental Policy at American University, says: "Her nomination signals that the president really wants to deliver on his State of the Union objectives to take serious action on climate change." Others regard McCarthy as an environmental extremist [10] speculation that her appointment will affect Obama's decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Fiorino believes that this doesn't affect the dynamics of the Keystone decision significantly as other considerations are paramount, but adds: "... she knows air and climate issues very well and she's a very strong environmentalist." The EPA is one of the federal agencies that will advise the Obama administration on the proposed pipeline, "a project that would carry millions of barrels of bitumen a week from Alberta's carbon-intensive oilsands to the U.S. Gulf Coast".[11]

Confirmation[edit]

While the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved the nomination in a vote along party lines on May 16,[12] the nomination was stalled on the Senate floor. In the interim, Bob Perciasepe served as the EPA's acting administrator.[13] David Vitter, the ranking Republican on the Committee, posed 600 of a total 1,100 questions, to McCarthy. The Committee Republicans demanded responses from McCarthy on five "transparency requests."[13] The delayed nomination became the longest period on record that the agency was without a leader. Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey and EPA administrator under President George W. Bush, stated: “It’s not about [McCarthy], it’s about the agency... Republicans lost the [presidential] election and they have to realize that this is the president’s choice of nominee. They can go after the president, but Gina McCarthy should get an up-and-down vote.”[14] On July 18, 2013, the Senate confirmed McCarthy as the 13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency by a vote of 59-40.[7] On September 11, 2015, 26 Representatives introduced a resolution impeaching McCarthy. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and died.[15]

Tenure[edit]

On May 27, 2015, Administrator McCarthy finalized a rule under the Clean Water Act which proposed a new detailed and inclusive definition of "waters of the United States".[16] Thirteen states sued, and U.S. Chief District Judge Ralph R. Erickson issued an injunction blocking the regulation in those states.[17] In a separate lawsuit, on October 9, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge David McKeague, joined by Judge Richard Allen Griffin stayed the rule’s application nationwide, over a dissent by Judge Damon Keith.[18] Congress passed a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act overturning the "WOTUS" rule,[19] but President Obama vetoed the measure.[20]

On June 25, 2015, Administrator McCarthy finalized the Clean Power Plan under the Clean Air Act, seeking to reduce coal use pursuant to the Paris Agreement.[21] Challengers failed to get the regulation stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, but on February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States voted 5-4 to grant the stay, the first time the Supreme Court had ever stayed a regulation prior to lower court review.[22]

Personal life[edit]

McCarthy is married to Kenneth McCarey, a wholesale floral salesman. They have three children, Daniel, Maggie and Julie. McCarthy also has a sister, Elaine McCarthy, who is a middle school history teacher.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Smith, Sandy (July 18, 2013). "Gina McCarthy Confirmed as EPA Administrator". EHS Today. Cleveland. Retrieved July 19, 2013. 
  2. ^ Obama, Barack (March 4, 2013). "Remarks by the President in Personnel Announcements". White House Press Release. Retrieved July 23, 2013. 
  3. ^ The Huffington Post (March 4, 2013). Gina McCarthy Gets EPA Head Nomination From Obama. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  4. ^ John M. Broder (April 11, 2013). "Environmental Questions Take Back Seat at Hearing for E.P.A. Nominee". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2013. 
  5. ^ a b Mason, Jeff and Rampton, Roberta (February 20, 2013). Obama settles on EPA, Energy Department nominees: source. Reuters. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  6. ^ McCumber, David (February 21, 2013). EPA's Gina McCarthy under scrutiny. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Tracy, Tennille (July 18, 2013). Senate Confirms McCarthy as Head of EPA. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: July 19, 2013.
  8. ^ a b U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Retrieved February 22, 2013. Archived May 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ a b c The Washington Post (March 4, 2013). Biographical information for Gina McCarthy, Obama's pick for EPA chief. Retrieved March 5, 2013.[dead link]
  10. ^ http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/253079-republican-rep-looks-to-impeach-epa-chief-mccarthy
  11. ^ CBC News (February 21, 2013). What will Obama's 'green quarterback' mean for Keystone XL? Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  12. ^ Bernstein, Lenny (May 16, 2013). "Senate committee approves Obama's nomination of Gina McCarthy to head EPA". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2013. 
  13. ^ a b Eilperin, Juliet (May 29, 2013). "Is blocking Gina McCarthy at EPA a pyrrhic victory for Republicans? It just might be". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2013. 
  14. ^ Fifield, Anna (July 9, 2013). EPA nominee Gina McCarthy a victim of Washington’s toxic politics. Financial Times. Retrieved: July 10, 2013.
  15. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-congressman-wants-to-impeach-epa-chief-gina-mccarthy_55f0bc0ae4b03784e277edd9
  16. ^ Davenport, Coral (May 28, 2015). "Obama Announces New Rule Limiting Water Pollution". The New York Times. p. A14. Retrieved December 5, 2016. 
  17. ^ Gershman, Jacob (August 28, 2015). "After Court Defeat, EPA Presses Forward With Water Rule in Some States". The Wall Street Journal. 
  18. ^ Gershman, Jacob (October 9, 2015). "Appeals Court Blocks EPA Water Rule Nationwide". The Wall Street Journal. 
  19. ^ S.J.Res. 22, 114th Congress (2015).
  20. ^ Cama, Timothy (January 21, 2016). "Senate fails to override Obama veto". The Hill. 
  21. ^ Recent Regulation: The Clean Power Plan, 129 Harv. L. Rev. 1152 (February 10, 2016).
  22. ^ Liptak, Adam; Davenport, Coral. "Supreme Court Deals Blow to Obama's Efforts to Regulate Coal Emissions". The New York Times (February 10, 2016). p. A1. Retrieved February 13, 2016. 

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Bob Perciasepe
Acting		 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
2013–2017		 Succeeded by
Scott Pruitt
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