(Host) Congressman Peter Welch says it’s critical for Congress to put an end to what he calls “the political interference” of the scientific community by the Bush Administration concerning the issue of global warming.
Welch is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee – yesterday the panel received a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists that detailed dozens of cases where the Bush Administration censored or changed the research of scientists working on behalf of the federal government.
Speaking last night on VPRs Switchboard program, Welch said he’s distressed to learn that the Bush Administration tried to suppress important global warming research:
(Welch) “Well the most important aspect of the issue is that we protect the integrity of scientific investigations so that the people of this country get the benefit of scientific research. You can’t politicize science. And what we saw was that the press office in the White House and other Administration agencies literally, literally rewrote changed, altered conclusions from scientists on the basis of their honest scientific work. That’s simply wrong.”
(Host) Welch says his committee plans to conduct an active oversight of these kinds of abuses by the federal government:
(Welch) “We have to return to accountability so that there’s a cop on the beat and that scientists know those who are working for our government, for you and me that their work will be respected and it won’t be altered for political reasons.”
(Host) Welch says he’ll strongly support congressional efforts to reduce global warming. He expects House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present a comprehensive bill to deal with this issue in the coming months.