House Oversight & Govt Reform: week in review (CCP)

This is the weekly installment of a series highlighting the events and activities of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Week Ahead Alert: HEARING
Tuesday, January 30, 2007, 10:00am, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

Allegations of Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists.  

More info about the hearing and other news below the fold.

Last week: 01/15/07

UPDATE: added witness list for the Hearing

Upcoming Hearings

1. Tuesday, January 30, 10:00am, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
   Allegations of Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists

   UPDATE: Just found this witness list on the Committee website

   • Dr. Drew Shindell, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA
   • Mr. Rick Piltz, former Senior Associate, U.S. Climate Change Science Program (see below - he was the original whistleblower on the CEQ)
   • Dr. Francesca Grifo, Senior Scientist and Director of the Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
   • Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr., Professor in the University of Colorado's Environmental Studies Program and a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Evnvironmental Sciences.
   
   

   The investigation continues from the 109th session into allegations that the White House Council of Environmental Quality(CEQ) modified scientific reports and influenced statements of government scientists in order to minimize the significance of global warming.  Waxman's letter to CEQ Chairman James Connaughton requests all communications and documents for James L. Connaughton, Philip Cooney, Bryan Hannegan, Marty Hall, Kenneth Peel, Bill Holbrook or Michele St. Martin related to climate change reports and activities.  According to Climate Science Watch, the CEQ has been stonewalling about handing over these documents and Waxman is not pleased.   It looks like this Congress is not going to take any more excuses from White House agencies.  

   The allegations cover changes made to reports from the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and the EPA.  Whistleblower Rick Piltz, accused the CEQ chief of staff (at the time), Philip Cooney, of changing several reports that discussed global climate change, including Our Changing Planet and the Strategic Plan for the United States Climate Change Science Program.  Piltz later resigned from his position with the US Climate Change Science Policy office in protest of the politicization of the global warming research.    The CEQ also forced the EPA to remove a section about climate change and its influence by human activity from their 2003 Draft Report on the Environment.  

   More info on who's who in the doc request:
   Philip Cooney is a former chief of staff at CEQ.  In June 2005, the New York Times reported that Cooney repeatedly edited climate research reports to downplay the impact of greenhouse gases in global warming, among other things.   Cooney was once a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute and has no scientific background or training.   As a result of this report tampering, he resigned from CEQ to take a job at Exxon Mobil.

   Bryan Hannegan, who actually is a climate scientist, replaced Cooney in June 2005, and then resigned in March 2006 after less than a year on the job.  He is now with the Electric Power Research Institute.

   After Hannegan left, Marty Hall was selected for the chief of staff position.

   Kenneth Peel is also a former CEQ official who is now working in the Treasury Dept.

   Bill Holbrook was deputy director of communications for CEQ and is now a vice president at the Electric Power Supply Association.

   Michele St. Martin is CEQ communications director.
   



2. Tuesday, February 6th, 10:00 am Rm 2154 Rayburn House Office Building  
   Iraq Reconstruction: waste, fraud, and abuse

   See last week's diary for more details.  

Announcements

• After the State of the Union speech, Waxman released a statementon behalf of the Committtee criticizing Bush's All Talk and No Action energy policies.  The President has failed to raise fuel economy standards for passenger cars, even though he already has authority to increase them, and he has not granted approval for California's tailpipe standards to go into place.   In 2000, the US was spending over $300 million/day on imported oil.  Today, after seven years of oil baron Bush, the nation's oil consumption is at its highest level ever. We're importing more foreign oil than ever at a cost of $750 million/day.
• Just to be fair to the "other side", here's what the Minority Office (Tom Davis [VA-11], Ranking Member) put on it's News page this week.  
  
  
  • Davis Happy With NFL Steroid Program Upgrades
    You can rest easy now...the NFL is really cracking down  (/snark)

    The NFL and the NFLPA agreed to a series of improvements to its steroids policy. The league now will test 10 players per team through the preseason, regular season and postseason – up from seven previously. It will increase the number of off-season tests from a maximum of two per player to six per player.

  
  
  • Give Polygraph to Berger
    I diaried about the Report the Oversight & Reform Committee released recently, so briefly, Sandy Berger, former National Security Advisor to Clinton, removed a few classified documents from the National Archives in 2003. Berger pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal, and as part of the plea agreement he was supposed to take a polygraph test.  Davis, still hot on the case to get the dirt on Clinton, sent a letter to Alberto Gonzales requesting that the DOJ administer the test and "question him about the extent of his thievery".   It is the only way for the public to know the "complete account of the Clinton Administration's actions or inactions during the lead-up to the terrorist attacks on the United States". (emphasis theirs)

Legislation

Listed under the Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over the matter.  

NEW

National Security and Foreign Affairs

• H.R.624: To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15]
• H.R.670: To promote the national security and stability of the United States economy by reducing the dependence of the United States on foreign oil through the use of alternative fuels and new vehicle technologies, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17]

Domestic Policy

• H.R.660 : To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect judges, prosecutors, witnesses, victims, and their family members, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14]

Information Policy, Census, and National Archives

• H.R.605:  To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide an increased maximum penalty for telemarketing fraud targeting seniors, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Hayes, Robin [NC-8]

Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia

• H.RES.83:  Congratulating Tony Gwynn for his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, for an outstanding career as an athlete, and for his contributions to baseball and to his community.
  Sponsor: Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53]
• H.RES.84: Recognizing the 100th anniversary of Glenn Curtiss's achievement of record-breaking speed and his contributions to the motorcycle and aircraft industries.
  Sponsor: Rep Kuhl, John R. "Randy", Jr. [NY-29]
• H.RES.89: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a day should be established as Dutch-American Friendship Day to celebrate the historic ties of the United States and the Netherlands.
  Sponsor: Rep Hoekstra, Peter [MI-2]
• H.RES.90: Congratulating Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts on becoming the first African-American head coaches of National Football League teams to qualify for the Super Bowl.
  Sponsor: Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13]
• H.R.625: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California, as the "Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office".
  Sponsor: Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32]

Government Management, Organization, and Procurement

• H.R.631: To prohibit Federal agencies from obligating funds for earmarks included only in congressional reports, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Flake, Jeff [AZ-6]

UPDATE
Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia

• H.R.476: To amend title 5, United States Code, to make noncreditable for Federal retirement purposes any Member service performed by an individual who is convicted of any of certain offenses committed by that individual while serving as a Member of Congress, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Rep Boyda, Nancy E. [KS-2] Cosponsors (56)
  Latest Major Action: 1/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

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