This is an attack on the way that facts and verified information feed into our government. Its very premise threatens our democracy. Read more >
Shealah Craighead/The White House
The Trump Administration’s Hostility Toward Independent Expert Advice Spirals Out of Control
Genna Reed, Lead science and policy analyst
June 15, 2019 8:31 AM EDT
Photo: Genna Reed
Three Times EPA Administrator Wheeler Failed His Science Advisors This Week
Genna Reed, Lead science and policy analyst
June 7, 2019 10:01 AM EDT
I told E&E News before this week’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) meeting that my concern was that Administrator Wheeler was using the board “as a box he needs to check off” on his path to deregulation. He called out my quote in his statement to the SAB on Tuesday morning and refuted the underlying assumption that he didn’t value his science advisors. I didn’t have to wait long before the proceedings of the meeting proved my very point and illustrated exactly how little Administrator Wheeler cares about the scientific underpinnings of regulations, the opinions of his own scientists and science advisors, or even in getting basic scientific facts correct. Here are just a few anecdotes from this week’s SAB meeting that made this clear:
Members of the USDA Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, in a December 2010 photo. USDA photo
Improving Transparency and Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest for Science Advisory Committees
Andrew Rosenberg, director, Center for Science & Democracy
May 13, 2019 2:43 PM EDT
On Wednesday this week, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will hold a mark-up hearing in the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2019 introduced by Sen. Portman (R-OH). And before you stop reading, yes this is a science issue. The proposed amendments are intended to improve the transparency of the federal advisory committee process, including science advisory committees of scientists from outside government, and to disclose and reduce the impacts of conflicts of interest on those committees. Read more >
As Congress Revives its Oversight Responsibilities, Science Should Be on the Agenda
Michael Halpern, Deputy director, Center for Science & Democracy
November 15, 2018 9:59 AM EDT
The midterms brought checks and balances to Washington, complete with new opportunities for accountability and oversight, and some members of Congress have already signaled that science will be on the agenda. Today, a diverse set of environmental, public health, and good government organizations released a report outlining what Congress can do to address recent actions that sideline science from policymaking. Read more >
Can the EPA Protect Us from Ozone and Particulate Pollution Without Its Experts? What to Watch
Gretchen Goldman, Research Director, Center for Science and Democracy
November 9, 2018 9:00 AM EDT
This week, the EPA announced that its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) alone would be reviewing upcoming ozone and particulate matter reviews. On October 10, the EPA nixed its ozone and particulate matter review panels—breaking with EPA’s use of expert science advisers for ambient air quality decisions since the 1970s and consistent with this administration’s trend of abandoning science advice. Read more >
