Rationale for the Secret Science Reform Act
House Committee Report on H.R. 1030
Science has been central to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission and functions since its establishment in 1970. The agency’s recently finalized Scientific Integrity Policy describes science as “the backbone of the EPA’s decision-making.’” Efforts to encourage and guarantee open scientific research and assessment at the EPA are based in a number of historical, legal, and administrative origins. ■ Recent Policy Statements and Executive Actions In 1983, then-Administrator William Ruckelshaus wrote a memo to all EPA employees dictating that the agency should operate as though it were “in a fishbowl.” The memo stressed the importance of being as open as…
