Washington ― Amid ethics concerns on taxpayer-funded travel habits, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to seek clarification on comments he made during his testimony before the Committee on Natural Resources in March.
Barragán and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) sent Zinke a letter on Oct. 5, 2017, requesting information about his taxpayer-funded travel. In his testimony, Zinke falsely claimed that he had already responded to the letter.
Zinke did hold up a letter during the hearing, claiming that it was sent to “the ranking member” and chairman Rob Bishop (R- Utah) on Oct 31, 2017. But that letter was not a response to the letter from Barragán and Beyer and was never sent to any Democrat.
Barragán and Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today reiterated their call for Zinke to apologize for misleading the committee, Barragán and the American people.
“Secretary Zinke’s deception during a congressional hearing raises considerable questions about transparency and good faith,” said Barragán. “The secretary owes the public and this committee an apology for his misleading testimony, but more than that he owes us the truth about his questionable spending of taxpayer dollars. This is an opportunity for Secretary Zinke to clear up any confusion about his statements and provide the American people with documentation showing that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.”