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| EPA Censorship of YouTube Video Raises New Questions about Administration’s Suppression of Science |
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| Friday, 13 November 2009 09:58 |
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WASHINGTON, DC –House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA), House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), in a joint letter expressed concern and demanded an explanation from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about EPA’s efforts to silence EPA employees who questioned the wisdom of cap-and-trade legislation in a YouTube video posting. “In a YouTube video produced on their own time, Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel clearly state that the views expressed are their own and not that of the agency or the Obama Administration,” wrote the Members. “Even so, EPA officials ordered the couple to remove the YouTube video last week. EPA’s actions appear to be an inappropriate abuse of authority and a possible infringement on the couple’s First Amendment rights.” EPA employee Zabel has been overseeing California's cap-and-trade and offset programs for more than 20 years. This experience made him particularly well qualified to offer an opinion as to the effectiveness of an economy wide cap–and-trade scheme. The YouTube video argued that greenhouse gas cap-and-trade would not have the success of the acid rain cap-and-trade program in the 1990s because addressing acid rain “didn’t require major innovations in technology.” “The views of EPA employees who don’t subscribe to the Gore/Obama ideology on climate change clearly aren’t welcome at the EPA,” said Rep. Issa. “In less than a year, Chicago-style politics have replaced sound science as the primary driver of policy.” “This is another example of the EPA playing dirty to get green,” Sensenbrenner said. “These two EPA attorneys merely sought to point out some of the many flaws inherent in a cap-and-tax system. Despite their decades of work on environmental issues, the EPA has sought to minimize their experience as well as their views.” “The EPA promised transparency; instead it’s putting a muzzle on its employees. Career employees should not be silenced for expressing an informed opinion simply because it differs from the Administration,” Barrasso said. “The EPA must be an open, accessible and science-based agency that respects the fundamental rights of its employees.” Click here to read the letter to EPA Administrator Jackson |
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