Inspector General: Interior Department Manipulated Science to Justify Gulf Moratorium
by Kevin Mooney“Scientific misconduct” within key federal agencies has given rise to counterproductive regulatory policies that further burden an already beleaguered economy and erode the public trust, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) warns in a letter addressed to the White House.
At issue, is a report from the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI)’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) that describes how the agency manipulated and altered a 30-day report from the National Academy of Engineers. Sen. Vitter and several House colleagues, including Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), called for the OIG investigation in response to allegations that officials with Interior had deliberately misrepresented scientific opinion on the merits of the deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’ve seen facts manipulated and science ignored across the administration while they’ve developed policies with huge negative effects on the economy,” Sen. Vitter said. “We want the public to be aware of the administration’s misconduct, but we also want agencies to be transparent and explain their methods.”
The letter from Vitter co-authored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.). is addressed to John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor, is co-authored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.).
“The IG investigation showed that not only had Interior violated the Information Quality Act (IQA), but there was direct involvement by the White House, specifically Carol Browner, to manipulate the summary documentation in violation of peer-review protocol,” the letter says. “…The investigation revealed blatant political influence, on what should have been an independent scientific assessment, to inaccurately represent the views of a particular team of scientists.”
In response to the explosion of British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, 2010, Interior declared a moratorium on deepwater drilling, which it extended for six months that following May 27 in tandem with the 30 day report. An engineer who was asked to participate in the peer review process of the report’s recommendations sent a letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Vitter and Sen. Mary Landrieu (R-La.) making it clear that he and his colleagues did not officially endorse the moratorium. The letter was co-signed by other engineers and reads in part as follows:
“A group of those named in the Secretary of Interior’s Report, “INCREASED SAFETY MEASURES FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF” dated May 27, 2010 are concerned that our names are connected with the [deepwater drilling] moratorium as proposed in the executive summary of the report. There is an implication that we have somehow agreed to or “peer reviewed” the main recommendation of that report. This is not the case.” [emphasis is included in the original letter]
Luke Bolar, a spokesman for Vitter, identified White House Climate Change Advisor Carol Browner as a key figure responsible for manipulating and distorting the scientific language.
“Carol Browner is one of the leading voices of junk science,” he said. “She was the one who changed the summary language just hours before the 30 day review was received and added a sentence to make it appear as the engineers endorsed the moratorium when they hadn’t. That’s why we needed the IG investigation.”
Early in his term, Obama issued a “Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity” that emphasized the importance of sound science in shaping and directing public policy, Vitter, Inhofe and Issa point out in their letter to the White House.
“Obama Science Advisor John Holdren has said that the Administration would make decisions based on the best possible science because, as the President has stated, ‘The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decision.’ Yet, it is clear that the Obama Administration cannot be trusted, as we continue to uncover more and more examples of faulty science being used as the justification for policies and increased regulations that will destroy jobs and harm our economy,” Sen. Inhofe observed.
The letter also notes that “Public trust in federal scientific work is waning…”and directs a series of questions to Holdren. They are as follows:
1. When this IG report became public, who did you contact at Interior to discuss scientific integrity and allegations that Interior violated peer reviewed protocol?
2. Did you speak directly with Secretary Salazar or anyone else identified in the IG report?
3. What was the content of your conversations with the President and Carol Browner, as well as any other White House officials?
4. What firewalls did you put in place at the White House to prevent future political influence from interfering with an independent scientific report?
5. What actions were taken at both Interior and the White House, or otherwise government-wide, as a direct result of your efforts following the IG’s findings?
6. What are your suggestions for strengthening the Information Quality Act in light of this incident specifically?
7. What are your suggestions for strengthening the Information Quality Act in light of this incident?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also comes in for criticism.
In April, a National Research Council (NRC) panel of independent scientists found the quality of work that was being done by the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) chemical assessment program to be below par. They concluded EPA’s scientific work did not support EPA’s scientific conclusions. They found the problem to be one that is recurring at the agency.
The NRC panel concluded:
Overall, the committee found that EPA’s draft assessment was not prepared in a logically consistent fashion, lacks clear links to an underlying conceptual framework, and does not sufficiently document methods and criteria used to identify evidence for selecting and evaluating studies. Moreover, many of the general problems with the EPA formaldehyde health assessment have been identified by other Research Council committees that reviewed other EPA chemical assessments in recent years. For instance, there have been recurring problems with clarity and transparency of the methods, even though the documents have grown considerably in length. The committee concluded that if the methodologic issues are not addressed, future assessments may suffer from the same general problems highlighted in this report.”
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“The IG investigation showed that not only had Interior violated the Information Quality Act (IQA), but there was direct involvement by the White House, specifically Carol Browner, to manipulate the summary documentation in violation of peer-review protocol,” the letter says. “…The investigation revealed blatant political influence, on what should have been an independent scientific assessment, to inaccurately represent the views of a particular team of scientists.”
Here we go again. (Direct involvement by the White House)
Add your favorite scandal to the list
All roads lead to the White House
Cap and trade failed as did the Chicago Climate Exchange,
These crooks will extract their pound of flesh come hell or high water.
Gasoline Taxes Vs. Exxon Profit, Per Gallon
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2011/04/27/ga...
Oil trade groups: Drilling deregulation could create 190,000 jobs Published: 12:04 AM 07/12/2011| Updated: 2:34 AM 07/12/2011 http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/12/oil-trade-group...
We want American oil, and not Canadian, or middle eastern, or from anybody who hates US period!
The one thing I do believe is drill baby drill! The private sector will lead the way. Government does not create, it only consumes. If oil was finite would you not think that Saudi Arabia would have dried up along time ago? Just something to think about. As Reagan famously said,"government is the answer, government is the problem!"
"The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves."
George Washington
Let me guess….. nothing will happen even with direct evidence. Instead, we will get this administration totally ignoring laws and judgements because there is no controlling legal authority ready and willing to challenge this turd POTUS.
Does anyone believe that the witless house and its trolls within the federal agencies have even a tiny shred of decency, honor and integrity even after the toddler and pelosi promised the most honest and transparent administration ever? I think not. This administration has to go the way of the dodo bird in 2012. It's either that or our republic goes the way of the dinosaur..
When Congress starts writing in SPECIFIC PENALTIES and insures that they are ENFORCED, then maybe, their "Information Quality Act" (LOL) will be taken seriously. Until people are PUNISHED for WILLFUL and BLATENT disregard of the Laws of the United States, there will be NO improvement and the current actions will continue!!
People believed Holdren? He's a life-long junk scientist. We should know better.
"These crooks will extract their pound of flesh come hell or high water."
"There's more than one way to skin this cat."——–barry obama
Wow! You don't say?
Who needs to worry about radical islam abroad , when its currently occupying the White House . I hope they eventually get what they deserve , Quadaffied !
John Holdren is a Malthusian of a very dangerous variety with close ties to Margaret Meade, and attended her conference in 1974, where the "global warming hoax" was born. This "master of junk-science" should have never been allowed into a university, let alone be allowed to head a major government agancy. The fact that he does should tell every intelligent American everything they need to know when it comes to whether the Obama regime is promulgating junk-science or not. I saw this coming before Obama was even elected.
Who is surprised by this revelation?
Not surprised, but very saddened and angry.
No one that's actually paying attention my friend…..this administration is hell bent on destroying jobs as well as the industry that has the ability to do so…….more and more regulations to keep their boots on the necks of progress….we are being ruled by liars and deceivers of the highest order….
And the key word is "ruled"……
Yes but, the 2012 GOP nominee can add this to the list of scams and failures by barry sore-toe to be highlighted and used against him next fall….providing we still have a Republic and are able to vote.
It may soon be time for American Revolution 2.0….
Who is John Galt?
Atlas Shrugged Part 1 released recently. Almost looks like a documentary.
Coming soon to a city near you….
Watched it with family last week for the first time….aside from my nestmate, no one else ever heard of it before….aside from the disappointment of the story going into part 2 at a later release, they walked away stating how familiar the story line matched todays events……then I really freaked them out when I mentioned how long ago the book had been written….
Looking forward to part 2…
“We’ve seen facts manipulated and science ignored across the administration while they’ve developed policies with huge negative effects on the economy,”
“…The investigation revealed blatant political influence, on what should have been an independent scientific assessment, to inaccurately represent the views of a particular team of scientists.”
Gee, when have the lefties ever done anything like that? Let’s see here; there’s DDT, man-caused global warming, the new ice age, the hole in the ozone, and of course the granddaddy of them all, evolution. This is just a partial list off of the top of my head. The left has been lying about science in order to use it to control us for decades.
Manipulating science is called fraud. Put them in jail. I am sick of all the FRAUD in Washington!!!!!!!!!!
Not at all, but it is very disappointing to the extent the government will do to control energy, it is just wrong morally and Constitutionally.
If it were up to 0bama the BP disaster still wouldn't have been reported, how long did he wait? Considering that they put pressure on Solyndra why wouldn't they have done the same with BP. Not sure, but i thought BP got rewarded with a drilling permit post spill?
"Luke Bolar, a spokesman for Vitter, identified White House Climate Change Advisor Carol Browner as a key figure responsible for manipulating and distorting the scientific language."
I'm shocked, absolutely shocked I tell you. (sarc)
Not I.
True science has taken a backseat to political agendas.
Science, as now practiced is solely for the support of a foregone conclusion. Why doesn't the EPA just come out and ban fracturing instead of hiding behind science? It would at least be honest because their intent is to ban the practice anyway.
can't wait for it to get here….
I'm tired of punching holes in paper….
Well, they could put these "scientists" on the IPCC. They can always use an extra hand at creating fraudulent data.
DRILL BABY DRILL!!!!
The BIG LIE.
by Steve McCann (Full article at americanthinker dot com)
Yet, the United States is sitting on the world's largest untapped oil reserve. A natural resource that would not only mitigate the over $400 Billion sent overseas to other countries but could create untold millions of jobs and put the country on a sound financial footing.
The untapped reserves are estimated up to 2.3 Trillion barrels, nearly three times the reserves held by the OPEC countries and sufficient to meet 300 years of demand, at today's levels — for auto, truck, aircraft, heating and industrial fuel, without importing a single barrel of oil.
The US could become the single largest exporter of oil and oil related products in the world, thus potentially eliminating its trade deficit, and increasing the national standard of living as well as making a massive dent in the national debt.
Here is a look at some of the largest untapped reserves:
The Bakken Fields in North and South Dakota. New drilling and oil recovery technology is making the capture of this oil feasible and some development is now underway. It is estimated that there is at least 200 Billion barrels of oil in this region. At a price of $100 per barrel the value of this find is $20 Trillion.
The Outer Continental shelf. It is estimated that around 90 billion barrels of oil sit beneath the ocean bed 50 to 100 miles off the shore of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. The value: $9 Trillion.
The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. About 10 billion barrels are locked up here with a current value of $1 Trillion.
Tar Sands: Around 75 Billion barrels of oil could come from these areas which are similar to the Canadian tar sand fields and which now produce about 2 million barrels per day. The value: $7.5 Trillion
Oil Shale. This is the most massive area of potential oil production in the world with an estimated 1.5 Trillion barrel potential. The technology necessary to extract this oil is now in place and being operated on a pilot project basis. The value of this resource: $150 Trillion
There also the very real potential that further finds will be discovered as technology continues to improve.
In total the value of the potential oil reserves of the United States listed above exceeds $187 Trillion. The current national debt is $14.2 Trillion or less than 8%.
Despite the protestation of President Obama and the environmentalists the world and particularly the United States is not running out of oil. Their foolish tilting at windmills and solar will never produce energy sufficient to operate a $14Trillion and hopefully growing economy. It will be decades if not the rest of the 21st Century before any meaningful substitute for fossil fuels will be developed and additional time and investment will then be necessary to distribute the product.
"The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves."
George Washington
This is a cabal of criminals in the White House! They lie, they manipulate the truth to their political advantage, thye cover up evidence of wrong doing. Obama and his band of thieves must be removed!
Can't say that I'm looking forward to it but it is getting close to a "shjt or get off the pot" proposition….
I just want it over with….
Ok this is funny… Ken Salazar's own lawyers are incriminating his office on lieing to court and congress.
It's bad when your own solicitor general can't defend you and rolls over in public.
I hear ya bro…..many of us here do…..
Our oil supply is a major national and international security issue and this is what they do?
ROLL THOSE HEADS…ROLL THEM IN THE AISLES…ROLL THEM IN THE NEWS…FOR ALL TO SEE HOW THIS GOVERNMENT IS KEEPING AMERICA…CHAINED TO FOREIGN OIL!
Call/email your reps…and express your disgust and tell them you want this rectified…and rectified now!
Thousands in the Gulf have lost their livelihood…because of this moratorium…and now it is revealed…the data was misleading?
ROLL…HEADS…ROLL!
We can't leave the country like this for our kids…
I agree. That's why I'm preparing mine……
Typical leftist ways. Put idiology (misspelling intentional) above science.
It must suck to go through life and be "shocked" by stories like this. When you actually grow up and learn something, this will happen less.
It's BP, not British Petroleum. They changed their name several years ago. Don't let yourself be taken in by Obama's apparent hatred of all things British.
Despite the protestation of President Obama and the environmentalists the world and particularly the United States is not running out of oil. Their foolish tilting at windmills and solar will never produce energy sufficient to operate a $14Trillion and hopefully growing economy. It will be decades if not the rest of the 21st Century before any meaningful substitute for fossil fuels will be developed and additional time and investment will then be necessary to distribute the product. diy home blog
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