Rahall: Interior ‘Fesses Up on Politics Trumping Science
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2007
CONTACT:
Allyson Groff,
202-226-9019
Washington, D.C. – In light of ongoing controversy over the Department
of the Interior's (DOI) handling of the endangered species program,
U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the House Natural
Resources Committee, today expressed cautious optimism that the agency
is taking the first steps in owning up to an apparent pattern of
political meddling in its scientific decision-making.
“I am heartened to hear that the Department of the Interior is stepping
up to the plate to begin addressing the ‘politics trumps science' ploy
endemic throughout this Administration,” Rahall said. “While this is
positive movement, it is just a start. What we have learned to date
raises concerns about political tinkering with science that has
affected perhaps 100 endangered species-related decisions – and
goodness knows what else – that deserve further scrutiny.”
Rahall has repeatedly pressed the agency to review possible political
tampering within its ranks. Following up to a May 9 oversight hearing
that examined MacDonald's role in politicizing the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), Rahall sent two letters, dated May 17 and June 20, to DOI's
Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett, requesting a departmental review of a
number of ESA listing decisions made during MacDonald's service.
A May 21 letter sent by Rahall and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a senior
Member of the Committee, to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, called for a
full accounting of MacDonald's role in the removal of the Sacramento
Splittail from the endangered species list. Rahall and Miller sent
another letter on July 18 to Scarlett, reiterating this request, after
the Department failed to respond to the lawmakers' repeated requests.
The announcement, made today by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director
Dale Hall, outlines the Department's intention to reopen specific cases
in which Interior's Inspector General found Julie MacDonald, former
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, had played
a significant role in asserting her own political interests to overrule
scientific decisions on endangered species recovery.
The announcement comes nearly two weeks before a previously scheduled
July 31 oversight hearing designed to continue the Committee's efforts
to examine the causes and consequences of political intervention in the
decision-making process at the Interior Department. The hearing was
organized in response to a recent report in The Washington Post that
revealed Vice President Dick Cheney also had a hand in influencing
scientific and policy decisions at the agency. The Post article
directly linked Cheney's intervention to the 2002 die-off of over
70,000 salmon in the Klamath River Basin.
Secretary Kempthorne is among those invited to testify at the hearing on July 31.
“For too long, political appointees at the Interior Department have
demonstrated a complete disregard for scientists and their work – and
it is time to put the cuffs on this behavior,” Rahall said. “I look
forward to hearing from Secretary Kempthorne and other senior political
appointees at Interior on just what they are doing to get a handle on
this flagrant abuse of the Endangered Species Act. Clearly, the faults
run much deeper than one person, and my committee will continue to
press the agency until we see some real changes in the way the law is
carried out.”
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