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Jackson, Ryan[jackson.ryan@epa.gov] POLITICO Pro Energy Whiteboard Tue 6/27/2017 8:50:03 PM Smith defends EPA on science adviser's testimony as Democrats seek probe
By Alex Guillen
06/27/2017 04:46 PM EDT
House Science Chairman Lamar Smith today defended EPA for reportedly seeking to control what scientist Deborah Swackhamer, chair of the agency's Board of Scientific Counselors, said at a hearing last month.
Swackhamer was invited by the panel's Democrats for a hearing on state roles in environmental regulations shortly after EPA made waves by declining to automatically re-appoint a number of BOSC members. The New York Times on Monday reported that EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson pressured her to stick to "talking points" on BOSC issues and that Swackhamer said she "felt bullied."
Top Science Committee Democrats have asked EPA's inspector general to investigate the matter. "It seems clear that Mr. Jackson was seeking to influence Dr. Swackhamer's testimony to Congress," they wrote in their request.
The Democrats also wrote separately to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt about their concerns. Pruitt said he was unfamiliar with the issue at a hearing this morning, at which he was accompanied by Jackson.
Smith said in a statement that after reviewing emails between Swackhamer, Jackson and other EPA officials, he believes EPA "was pursuing a course of due diligence and ensuring that information provided in witness testimony before Congress was accurate and without factual error." He charged Democrats with trying to "hijack" the hearing "for their own politically motivated agenda."
"The American people are smart enough to see past the Minority's highly politicized tactics," Smith added.
To view online'. https://www.politicopro.com/energy/whiteboard/2017/06/smith-defends-epa-on-science-adviserstestimony-as-democrats-seek-probe-089796
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Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00002751 -00001
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Sierra Club v. EPA, 1:17-cv-01906
ED_001523_00002751-00002