Gohmert Calls for EPA Administrator’s Resignation

WASHINGTON (Staff/AP) – U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert of Tyler has called for the resignation of EPA Region Six Administrator Al Armendariz. That’s after a videotape surfaced of what Gohmert termed Armendariz’s “toxic comments” at a meeting in Texas in May 2010.

In a statement, Gohmert said, “Elitists, like Al Armendariz, do not understand that we don’t have subway systems in east Texas. Hard-working, taxpaying Americans have to get in their cars and drive, sometimes long distances, in order to get to and from work. In his zeal to ‘crucify’ the evil oil companies, Armendariz is placing a crushing burden on overwhelmed Americans who have to choose between food for their families or gasoline to get to work.

“The specific game plan of this administration’s ‘War on Big Oil’ will not adversely impact major oil companies. Instead, their policies will repeal business deductions for small independent oil and gas companies who drill and maintain 95-percent of the wells in the continental United States. In fact, his ‘crucifixion’ strategy will nail small independent companies to the cross – leaving true big oil to make even more profit.”

Armendariz has apologized for using the word “crucify” when describing the agency’s enforcement policies, and for saying it makes examples of bad players in the oil and gas industry. Armendariz was answering a question about EPA enforcement. The video shows him saying that in the Middle Ages, the Romans would enter a troublesome town, “take the first five guys they saw and crucify them.” Then the town would be “really easy to manage for the next few years.” He then said the EPA similarly makes examples of oil and gas companies not complying with the law.