Bush Hits the Delete Button

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•  In 2003 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bowed to White House pressure and deleted the global warming section from its annual “Report on the Environment.”

•  On March 19, 2007, Philip Cooney, a petroleum lobbyist who served as chief of staff for the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his extensive edits to environmental reports over the past several years. According to the New York Times, the committee report showed “hundreds of instances” of edits that tempered information on the destructive impact of global warming.

•  In October 2007 the administration excised congressional testimony from Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regarding the negative health implications of climate change.

•  A 2006 rule change at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) restricts its scientists from publishing or discussing research without that information first being screened by higher-ups at the agency. Special screening, the amended rules stated, will be given to “findings or data that may be especially newsworthy, have an impact on government policy, or contradict previous public understanding to ensure that proper officials are notified and that communication strategies are developed.” The USGS scientists cover such controversial topics as global warming. Before, studies were released after an anonymous peer review of the research.

•  The EPA announced in 2006 plans to close several libraries that were used by researchers and scientists. The agency called its decision a cost-cutting measure, but a 2004 report showed that the facilities actually saved the EPA $7.5 million the previous year.

The Economy

•  In March 2006 the administration announced it would no longer produce the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which identifies those programs that best assist low-income families and tracks health insurance coverage and child support.

•  When an annual report called “Budget Information for States” showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of fiscal crises in 2003, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced that it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

•  In December 2002 the Labor Department curtailed funding to the Mass Layoffs Statistics program, which released monthly data on the number and size of layoffs by U.S. companies. Bush’s father attempted to kill the same program in 1992, but Clinton revived it when he assumed the presidency.

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