Rep. Broun Continues to Press Administration to Reconcile Rhetoric with Action on Scientific Integrity
Washington, D.C. – Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight Ranking Member Paul Broun (R-GA) today sent a letter to the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. John Holdren, once again requesting information regarding recent events that call into question scientific integrity and transparency within the Administration.
Recently, emails and documents leaked by the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU), one of the primary repositories of climate change data relied on by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), show numerous Federal scientists and recipients of Federal research grants involved in various inappropriate activities.
“The scientific community enjoys a tremendous amount of public trust. Unfortunately, the themes exposed in the CRU documents led to a loss of confidence in certain individuals as dispassionate arbiters of climate science,” Broun said in his letter. “At the least, the contents of the emails point to a troubling trend of groupthink where data is manipulated and withheld, scientific journals are intimidated, and reputations are attacked for political expedience,” the letter continued.
Drawing connections to the Obama Administration’s still outstanding recommendations on scientific integrity, Broun stated, “Far from dispassionate, truth-seeking scientific work, the references above are just a small sampling of what appears to be a highly disturbing pattern of politics leading the science in a manner wholly inconsistent with both the President’s directive on scientific integrity as well as accepted scientific practice and ethics.”
In the letter sent today, Dr. Broun reiterated his call for a response from the Administration to his two previous inquiries regarding scientific integrity, as well as additional information relating to the newly released CRU documents. “While some of the aforementioned correspondence includes questionable actions by Federal scientists, most if not all of the participants receive Federal funding through grants. Most troubling, the data and information in question form the foundation upon which policymakers around the world seek to craft a global agreement on regulatory action to address climate change,” Broun stated.
In his letter from July, which the Administration has yet to respond to, Broun stated, “The importance of these underlying issues being addressed is far-reaching and will impact the lives of every American. Consequently, the public deserves more than rhetoric.”
Here is the letter:
12.2.09_Broun_Holdren_letter –
