Date: 2014-11-18
Speaker: SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill it or send it back to committee. If it is adopted. it will move immediately to final passage. as amended. Mr. Speaker. since 1978. the Environmental Protection Agencys Science Advisory Board has been tasked with external. independent advice on the scientific and technical aspects of environmental issues to help inform environmental decisions. and this commonsense amendment is critical to protecting the integrity of the SAB. It simply says: No person shall be a member of the Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board if they represent a corporation or a trade association that has a direct or indirect financial interest in the outcome of decisions based on recommendations made by the board. My colleagues. a simple notion. a commonsense notion: if someone has a financial interest. they should not serve on the board. The Science Advisory Board has some of the most distinguished scientists in their fields. folks like Dr. William Schlesinger. from Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley. in my neck of the woods. who has served as a member of the Science Advisory Board. Dr. Schlesinger is a good example of the kind of people we have on this board. He is the president emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. an ecological research institute in Millbrook. New York. He has spent 30 years investigating the link between environmental chemistry and global climate change. and his expertise has informed numerous pieces of legislation. such as the Clean Air Act. America is the world leader in research. with an unprecedented number of scientists like Dr. Schlesinger in academic institutions. not because we politicize science. but because we dont politicize science. Their entire lifes work has been devoted to serving the public and to leaving our country a better place. It is why it is imperative that we continue to allow the most knowledgeable scientific and technical experts from our research institutions to serve without conflict. without a paycheck in the offing. So far. scientists on the SAB have been instrumental in creating real reforms to the Clean Air Act. the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. the Clean Water Act. the Toxic Substances Control Act. and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Science is not political. We shouldnt fear science. and we shouldnt politicize science. We should not monetize science. and we should not make it political today. We should ban these conflicts and trust in our scientists. We must continue to allow the SAB to implement impartial scientific recommendations. and we simply must prohibit scientists who can profit from decisions from making recommendations as part of the board. This bill now requires a new disclosure requirement for SAB members. but there is a glaring omission. It fails to effectively prevent persons with key financial conflicts from serving. That is why I urge my colleagues to support my commonsense amendment. We must not allow corporations to influence this process by sending corporationfunded scientists onto the board. We must not allow corporationfunded scientists to drown out genuine scientific debate. My goodness. This amendment would simply ensure that the science board continues its integrity of serving science. not serving itself or any one political agenda. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.