Stephen L. Johnson
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Stephen Lee Johnson (born March 21, 1951) is an American politician who served as the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environ ...
(EPA) under President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
during the second term of his administration. He has received the
Presidential Rank Award The Presidential Rank Awards program is an individual award program granted by the United States government to career Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Senior Career Employees within the OPM-allocated Senior-Level (SL) or Scientific-Profes ...
, the highest award that can be given to a civilian federal employee.


Education and career in industry

Johnson attended
Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...
, receiving a B.A. in biology followed by a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in pathology from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
. 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
Covance Labcorp Drug Development is a contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina, providing nonclinical, preclinical, clinical and commercialization services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Formerl ...
. He has been awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees by
Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...
and
Virginia Wesleyan College Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) is a private university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university is nonsectarian but historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church. It enrolls 1,607 students annually in undergraduate and graduate ...
.


EPA career prior to becoming administrator

Johnson began working at the EPA in 1979. He had been working at a private lab, Litton Bionetics Inc., in Washington. Johnson said that a mentor suggested he get a job at the EPA, learn about regulations from inside government, and then return to industry. "Regulations were really frustrating," Johnson told ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' in 2008, recalling his decision to join the EPA. "I wondered if they really understood what it was like to work in a laboratory." Johnson's rise from career scientist to EPA chief began in 2001, when he made the jump from civil service bureaucrat to political appointee. In January 2001, Johnson was the lead staff toxics official at EPA. His selection as assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances was set in motion by a Kentucky lobbyist, Charles Grizzle, whose clients have included power companies, hospitals, shopping centers, and a formaldehyde industry association. After the 2000 election, Grizzle called then-senior White House aide Karl Rove and suggested that Rove should take a look at Johnson. When EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman resigned in 2003, Johnson became the acting deputy administrator, the number two position at EPA, and remained in that position when former Utah governor Michael O. Leavitt was named administrator.


EPA Administrator

On January 26, 2005, when Leavitt became secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Johnson became acting administrator of EPA. On March 4, 2005, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
nominated him formally for the permanent position. He became the first career employee to hold the position of Administrator and the first scientist to head the Agency. During his April 6, 2005 Senate confirmation hearing, EPA was criticized for support of using human subjects in pesticide testing. Johnson "did not have the opportunity to fully address the committee's criticisms before the hearing was recessed." In April 2005, a
secret hold In the United States Senate, a hold is a parliamentary procedure permitted by the Standing Rules of the United States Senate which allows one or more Senators to prevent a motion from reaching a vote on the Senate floor. If the Senator provides n ...
was placed on his confirmation vote while he evaluated the
Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study The Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study (or CHEERS) was a study conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency designed to examine how children may be exposed to pesticides and other chemicals used in U.S. households, ...
, which advocated recording the effects of pesticides on children from infancy to age 3. In a letter that reached Senator Barbara Boxer several hours after she raised her concerns, Johnson said, "No additional work will be conducted on this study subject to the outcome of external scientific and ethical review." On April 8, Johnson canceled the study. His nomination was confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
on April 29. On February 6, 2006, he issued a final regulation "prohibiting new research involving intentional exposure of pregnant women or children intended for submission to the EPA under the pesticide laws" and other protections. Johnson tried to block the efforts of 17 states to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
and improve fuel economy. He 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." The state rules he was blocking were 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 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
a waiver to limit greenhouse gases. On May 20, 2008, Johnson was questioned for three hours by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On July 29, 2008, four Senators called for Johnson's resignation, alleging he made false statements to Congress. On December 9, 2008, the Office of Inspector General, US EPA concluded that "EPA's California waiver decision on greenhouse gas automobile emissions met statutory procedural requirements." On May 19, 2009, President Obama also concluded: "a clear and uniform national policy is also good news for the auto industry which will no longer be subjected to a costly patchwork of differing rules and regulations." Johnson's stance on this and other issues was criticized in an editorial by the scientific journal ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'', which claimed he acted with "reckless disregard for law, science or the agency's own rules — or, it seems, the anguished protests of his own subordinates." In spite of this external criticism and over the objections of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Energy, Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Council of Economic Advisors, and Small Business Administration, Johnson issued the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, "Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under the Clean Air Act." On February 29, 2008, four labor unions representing 10.000 of the EPA's 17.000 employees (ca. 60%) 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 Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding ...
, pesticide regulation, mercury emissions, and greenhouse gas control. As Administrator, he managed more than 17,000 Agency employees nationwide and oversaw an annual budget of $7.7 billion. His tenure expired on January 20, 2009.


Post EPA

On June 29, 2010, clean technology company FlexEnergy announced that Johnson had joined its board of directors. According to Johnson, the company's technology can minimize air pollutants in congested cities and industrial sites, as well as provide energy in remote areas around the world. On November 11, 2010, The
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, where O.M. Scott began selling lawn seed in 1868. The company manufactures and sells consumer lawn, garden and pest control products, an ...
announced that Johnson had been named to its board of directors. Johnson also sits on the board of trustees at his alma mater,
Taylor University Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the country. The university is named after Bishop Willia ...
.


References


External links


Congressional Testimony (Video)
2008
"EPA Chief Silent on White House Involvement in Key Decisions"
Environment News Service, 5-21-2008
"Smoke and Mirrors: the Subversion of the EPA"
four-part series at ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Stephen L. 1951 births 21st-century American politicians Administrators of the United States Environmental Protection Agency George W. Bush administration cabinet members George Washington University alumni Living people People from Washington, D.C. Taylor University alumni Washington, D.C., Republicans Presidential Rank Award recipients