In light of recent reports that the Environmental Protection Agency leaked personal data for 80,000 livestock facilities, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) asked the Obama Administration for an explanation on Thursday.
The EPA recently admitted it used planes to search for environmental violations on ranches and farms across America then provided the information to left-wing organizations.
The letter, signed by 24 Congressional members, including Blunt, was sent to EPA’s Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. It contained a series of questions regarding what authority was used to release the information and what purpose was served by collecting data on people who own a small amount of animals.
“Whether they’re spying on farmers or leaking their personal information, the EPA is clearly targeting farm families, and this has to stop,” Blunt said. “Americans deserve answers immediately on what the Obama Administration is doing to stop this clear invasion of privacy.”
Blunt serves as ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. He recently praised an amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to the Farm Bill that would protect livestock and poultry farmers from having their personal information released by the EPA.
The occurrence is Blunt’s second dispute with the EPA this year. He placed a hold on EPA administrator nominee Gina McCarthy in March in objection to the Obama Administration’s handling of the St. Johns Bayou-New Madrid Floodway Project in Southeast Missouri.