[Esip-preserve] House Bill Prohibits EPA from Using Secret Science

[Jeff de La Beaujardiere]

Perhaps this will keep the EPA from approving permits for fracking, 
drilling for oil, and other environmental nastiness based on false 
claims that there will be no harm done.

-Jeff DLB


On 2014-02-08 12:39, Tilmes, Curt (GSFC-6190) wrote:
> http://science.house.gov/press-release/bill-prohibits-epa-using-secret-science
>
> Washington, D.C. – Members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and
> Technology today introduced the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 (H.R.
> 4012), a bill to prohibit the EPA from proposing regulations based upon
> science that is not transparent or not reproducible. The bill was
> introduced by Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Schweikert
> (R-Ariz.) and cosponsored by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).
>
> Chairman Smith: “Virtually every regulation proposed by the Obama
> administration has been justified by nontransparent data and
> unverifiable claims. The American people foot the bill for EPA’s costly
> regulations, and they have a right to see the underlying science. Costly
> environmental regulations should be based on publicly available data so
> that independent scientists can verify the EPA’s claims. The Secret
> Science Reform Act of 2014, which I sponsored, prohibits EPA from using
> secret science to justify new regulations.”
>
> Chairman Schweikert: “The Secret Science Reform Act ends costly EPA
> rulemaking from happening behind closed doors and out of public view.
> Public policy should come from public data, not based on the whims of
> far-left environmental groups. For far too long, the EPA has approved
> regulations that have placed a crippling financial burden on economic
> growth in this country with no public evidence to justify their actions.
> This common-sense legislation forces the EPA to be transparent and
> accountable with their findings.”
>
> A 2013 poll from the Institute of Energy Research found that 90 percent
> of Americans agree that studies and data used to make federal government
> decisions should be made public. Provisions in the bill are consistent
> with the White House’s scientific integrity policy, the President’s
> Executive Order 13563, data access provisions of major scientific
> journals, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the recommendations of the
> Obama administration’s top science advisors.
> [...]
>