The Patriot Post® · Bill Would Force Transparency in EPA's Use of Science

Currently, the EPA has tipped the playing field against people critical of the EPA’s regulations. Sometimes, the agency uses scientific studies not accessible to the public to craft policies. Disagree with its proposed regulations? Good luck trying to refute the scientific studies it uses. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced a bill that would require the EPA to use publicly accessible studies when creating its legislation. Such commonsense legislation was stalled in the previous, Democrat-controlled Congress. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), said, “EPA has a long history of relying on science that was not created by the agency itself. This often means that the science is not available to the public, and therefore cannot be reproduced and verified. What this bill is trying to accomplish is to make sure that we strengthen the scientific information the EPA uses to make regulations, guidance and assessments.” If Republicans are committed to bringing a wind of change to the stale and secret halls of the EPA, then they should work to pass this bill. And Barack Obama, who should want to salvage his “most transparent administration in history” claim, should lobby for its passage. Plus it prevents junk science. After all, the science isn’t settled until everyone knows what they are agreeing to. More…