Bush Science Ho (Marburger) Linked To Deletions, Edits Of CDC Report On Warming - Nature

[hatrack]

The chief science adviser to President George W. Bush came under fire last week for his role in watering down congressional testimony on the health effects of global warming. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, had briefed senators on the subject at a hearing on 23 October. As required, she submitted her written testimony 24 hours in advance to the White House — which then proceeded to chop it in half. Detailed comments from the office of John Marburger, the president's science adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), may have played a part.

Six pages of missing material focused on a range of potential public- health impacts related to climate change. These included the effects of heat waves, air pollution, extreme weather and infectious diseases. The original testimony also indicated that children, the elderly and the poor would bear the brunt of the impact, and suggested that these problems "remain largely unaddressed".

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Marburger insists that his office did not seek to cut the report, but instead made "substantive and constructive comments and suggestions". Those comments were passed to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which coordinates such agency reviews. Owing to time constraints, the budget office elected to strike the sections rather than revise the testimony, according to OSTP officials.

Donaghy acknowledges that Marburger's comments are technically accurate, but he says the administration had a responsibility to correct the errors rather than cutting the meat out of the testimony. "The topic of the hearing was climate change and public health," he says. "It's not too much to ask to have them submit testimony on that particular topic." The budget office referred all questions on the matter to the White House press office, which declined to discuss the issue.

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http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071030/full/450008b.html

[bananas]

1. "UFO" in the subject line would sex this up. nt

[hatrack]

2. As would "Lohan", "Predator" or "War On Christmas"

Couldn't quite make it work, though . . .