Michael Regan (pictured), the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has been in office for less than a month but is already under fire for allegedly “politicizing” the policymaking process.
Mr. Regan, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate for his post earlier this month, surprised many this week by announcing the purge of more than 40 outside science consultants from two high-profile EPA advisory panels.
The dismissals specifically targeted Trump-era appointees to the Science Advisory Board and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.
In announcing the move, Mr. Regan described the decision as an agency-wide “reset” meant to restore “scientific integrity” after four years of the Trump administration.
“Today, we return to a time-tested, fair, and transparent process for soliciting membership to these critically important advisory bodies,” the EPA administrator said.
The Science Advisory Board, created by federal law in 1978, is tasked with reviewing the “scientific and technical information being used by the EPA” for the purpose of “regulations.” It is also responsible for reviewing EPA research programs that receive federal funding.
Similarly, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee reviews all the scientific information and data used by the EPA when promulgating regulations on air quality and pollution.
Given the influence both panels have on policymaking, Mr. Regan’s dismissal of Trump-era appointees has sparked accusations of political meddling.
James Taylor, the interim president of the conservative Heartland Institute, told The Washington Times that the dismissals represented a “sad day for science, transparency, and representative government.”
“Michael Regan’s purge of EPA scientists and policy experts who may offer critical thinking in response to the Biden agenda is a complete politicization of science within our federal government,” Mr. Taylor said. “This shows that the Biden EPA cares nothing about science, the scientific method, or critical thinking.”
Mr. Regan has done little to calm such critiques. In fact, when announcing the dismissals, the EPA administrators repudiated former President Donald Trump for barring “academics and non-government officials who received EPA research grants” from serving on the committees.
Governmental watchdog groups, however, praise the Trump-era initiatives for expanding transparency within two powerful advisory bodies that hold significant sway over environmental regulations.
Mr. Regan and the White House defended the decision to dismiss the appointees Wednesday, alleging that Mr. Trump stacked the committees with energy executives, rather than scientists during his tenure.
The American Chemistry Council, the largest trade association representing chemical companies, pushed back on that characterization. The group noted that the Trump-era committees approved strong regulations and guidelines on air pollution and fracking.
Read rest at Washington Times
Of course he is doing this to appease the Useless Nations and the Climate Actvists Biden is a typical Democrat and Globalist who cow tow to the UN and Coffee Cup- A-Ninny someone is pulling Biden’s strings
Global warming is 100% political.
The purge is easy to understand. There is true science and a very different political narrative on climate change. A true scientist who acknowledges that extreme weather events are not increasing needs to be replaced by a junk scientist who claims that they are. A true scientist who acknowledges that there is no threat from sea level rise needs to be replaced with a junk scientist who predicts flooding. A true scientist who knows that vectors are not expanding their range due to climate change needs to be replaced by one who claims this is happening. A true scientist who knows that the rate of warming will be not be significant by 2100 needs to be replaced by a junk scientist with an alarmist view point. A true scientist who recognizes the greening of earth needs to be replaced with a junk scientist who ignores it. With true science so different than the political narrative, an army of junk scientists are needed to promote the liberal’s political agenda.