Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (May 1, 2014) - This week EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy lashed out against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other critics who believe the agency should grant public access to its scientific data. On Monday, McCarthy said to the National Academy of Sciences that EPA’s “Science is real and verifiable.” The EPA has resisted all attempts to publicize the scientific data used to implement its regulations. This “secret science” was used by the EPA to implement 98% of its air regulations between 2002 and 2012, most of which have had devastating economic impacts.

Congressional Western Caucus Co-Chairs Steve Pearce and Cynthia Lummis along with Western Caucus member David Schweikert released the following statements in response to the argument.

“The scientific process requires the publication of data for all to see and the EPA should not expect American citizens to blindly take their word for it,” said Chairman Steve Pearce. “It should be mandatory that the EPA be transparent with the science they use to implement regulations that have such significant economic impacts. “The American taxpayers whose livelihoods are affected by the EPA’s devastating economic regulations deserve an opportunity to examine the science being used to deny them jobs.”

“Science used to support new government regulations and mandates should be transparent and available to the public for peer review and validation,” said U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). “This notion that sound science is simply whatever Administrator McCarthy or the EPA say is sound science is certainly not the most transparent Administration in history that President Obama promised. Jobs have been lost, power plants have shut down, and more will follow, all based on unpublished science. Telling the public to accept new mandates on faith because ‘government knows best’ is unacceptable.”

“The information that creates the rules that we all live under belongs to all of us,” said Chairman Schweikert. “So how would you feel if you pull up a piece of paper and on that piece of paper is an article about the statement Administrator McCarthy gave on Monday morning in defense of secret science?” “According to Ms. McCarthy only ‘qualified or real scientists’ should be allowed to see the data sets that make public policy. The concept of having a government that runs substantially on secret information is outrageous.”