House Votes to Restrict EPA's Use of Science

Last edited Thu Mar 30, 2017, 10:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Hill

House Votes to Restrict EPA's Use of Science

By Timothy Cama - 03/29/17 04:57 PM EDT

The House voted Wednesday to restrict the kind of scientific studies and data that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can use to justify new regulations. ... The Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act, or HONEST Act, passed 228-194. It would prohibit the EPA from writing any regulation that uses science that is not publicly available.

Its the latest push by House Republicans to clamp down on what they say has turned into an out-of-control administrative state that enforces expensive, unworkable regulations that are not scientifically sound.
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The HONEST Act is similar to the Secret Science Act, which leaders in the House Science Committee sponsored in previous congresses and got passed. ... This legislation ensures that sound science is the basis for EPA decisions and regulatory actions, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the Science Committee, said on the House floor Wednesday. ... The days of trust-me science are over. In our modern information age, federal regulations should be based only on data that is available for every American to see and that can be subjected to independent review, he said. Thats called the scientific method.
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Republicans on the Science Committee passed* the bill earlier this month, alongside another bill to reform the EPAs Science Advisory Committee. The advisory panel would be required to have geographic diversity and representatives from certain stakeholder groups. ... The full House is likely to consider that bill soon.

* http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323161-house-committee-passes-two-epa-science-bills

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/326380-house-votes-to-restrict-epas-use-of-science