According to a report that was released on April 23 by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), political appointees have interfered with the work of hundreds of U.S. EPA scientists over the past five years.
Approximately two-thirds of the 1,600 staff scientists who were surveyed said that they experienced political interference with their work. A UCS spokesman said that this study has revealed an "agency in crisis." An EPA spokesman said that disputes are not uncommon in issues that EPA must address, but said that "sometimes maybe that disagreement can be categorized in our minds as interference, when, in fact, that's not the case." He added that "there's a clear role for science and that role is to inform policy decisions, but policy makers have to weigh a number of issues-the law, for one, and scientific information... and make the best policy decision they can."
Last month, EPA released air pollution standards for ground-level ozone. About 100 of the scientists involved said that the White House Office of Management and Budget was the chief meddler in their work.
The Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Henry Waxman (D-CA) told the EPA administrator, Stephen Johnson, to be prepared to answer questions about the survey next month when he testifies before the committee.
In the Senate, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said that the report was "a scathing indictment of the Bush administration's repeated efforts to twist misuse and ignore scientific facts in favor of special interests."