Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Inhofe's staff is investigating a coalition of state and local air quality officials that recently testified against his "Clear Skies" legislation. The State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials was asked to provide financial records, including IRS filings and details of government grants or contracts. The groups' executive director, Bill Becker, accused the Senate panel of trying "to intimidate the associations, and our members are very troubled by that." Andrew Wheeler, Inhofe's committee director, defended the investigation and said it had nothing to do with the "Clear Skies" testimony. "We've had issues with STAPPA for years," he said. "We've been looking at how they reach their decisions for quite a while." He added that while the group purports to represent all states, their position is based on how a majority of members votes on a particular issue. Becker said that is the case, just as a measure that receives a 10-8 vote in a congressional committee "is reported out of committee nonetheless."