Secret Science Reform Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, the bill before us today is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is a dangerous attack on the power of knowledge.

Supposedly, this bill prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from using secret science to issue regulations. Supposedly, by requiring the EPA to only consider publicly available data when drafting regulations, this bill will make the EPA more transparent.

Mr. Chairman, nothing could be further from the truth. Science has shown over and over that air pollution causes health problems, such as asthma. This is not a disputable fact.

Scientists have spent years comparing data on air pollution with data on health problems. Those results are very clear. They have been replicated, they have been peer-reviewed, and the EPA has issued regulations accordingly.

But the data in these studies cannot be made public without risking the violation of the privacy of Americans who voluntarily participated in them by releasing their personal health information. Rather than argue with the indisputable facts on air pollution--a losing bet--this bill attempts to discredit the science as ``secret,'' when in fact there is nothing secret about it.

The only secret here is the true intent of this bill, a dangerous attack on science itself. For this reason, I have cosponsored an amendment proposed by Mr. Kennedy. The amendment clarifies that nothing in this bill will prevent the EPA from using sound peer-reviewed science to issue regulations. One cannot oppose that without opposing science itself.

Science has brought us to the Moon, it has brought us the electric lightbulb, and yes, it demonstrates a link between air pollution and asthma. The American people rely on us to make decisions based on facts, not to legislate away facts that are politically inconvenient.

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