Every day of the Trump presidency brings a new or contined shocking event or revelation.  This is remarkable history in real time.  This week saw Dan Rather write on his Facebook page (https://m.facebook.com/theDanRather/?refid=52&__tn__=C) about Trump being labeled a “loser”.  Then, a bastion of Conservative thought, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, challenged Trump’s credibility and said “Yet the President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims.”  Yesterday, the Republican health care bill goes down in flames. These are certainly remarkable times.

Nevertheless, however badly the press and public may think about Donald Trump and even the Republican controlled House and Senate, they still have power.  And elections have consequences.  Every day, the business of government goes on and here’s the type of thing we get. Budgets will get written and passed… with real, on the ground impact that will absolutely affect YOU every day.  In the case of what I am highlighting below, it will be about the air you breath, the water you drink, the social cost of public health on lives and businesses and the economy.  The budget will affect the climate and the weather you experience.  People WILL die of heat waves, flooding, tornados and hurricanes.  Wars WILL be fought, in fact already are being fought, over water and drought.  And scientific research will be unavailable to help find solutions.  

And according to the polls, this is not what the American public voted for.  Sad.  Pay attention and RESIST any way you can.  YES>>> this is really, really bad…….

 

Science Panel Targets Climate Research for Cuts

Scott Waldman, E&E News reporter

Published: Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee suggests stripping much of the federal government’s climate change research in a plan listing its budget priorities.
Committee Republicans specifically target billions of dollars spent to understand and prepare for climate change in the annual “views and estimates” document, made public this week. It includes the proposed elimination of hundreds of millions of dollars in science spending.
In response, Democrats on the committee argue that it’s essential to preserve those funding levels and to eliminate political interference in government research that provides invaluable information.

Nearly every aspect of federal climate change research has become a target under the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress. Budget negotiations will begin in earnest tomorrow when the White House unveils its budget blueprint. Some Democrats have promised to fight for climate research.

Committee Republicans proposed cutting about $500 million from NASA. The committee, under the leadership of Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who rejects much of mainstream climate science and who has accused federal research agencies of fraud, has issued subpoenas to federal researchers who disproved the so-called global warming pause.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars in savings are available by reducing NOAA climate change programs and big, government satellite systems costs,” the Republicans said.

The committee has an outsized influence on federal climate research because it oversees agency budgets amounting to about $42 billion. It has jurisdiction over NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and elements of the Interior Department.
Committee Democrats say the science cuts would harm the public.

“The efforts by some to undermine how the EPA, and other federal agencies use science ultimately threaten our economy, public health and the environment, and even public confidence in our government,” committee Democrats wrote. “This is especially true when such efforts rely on biased, incomplete, and misleading information — ‘alternative facts’ if you will — in an attempt to advance a provably false narrative against the EPA.”

The committee’s Republican majority seeks to reduce the overall level of investment in NASA by cutting parts of its Earth science program and shifting it to planetary science and deep space exploration. It would amount to a $471 million cut.

The committee also attacks the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which accounts for $2 billion in spending on federal climate change research. The program stretches across NASA, NOAA, EPA and the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey. The committee suggested that work was “duplicative and poorly defined.”
“Given this fiscal irresponsibility, any funding that is part of the USGCRP should only be available contingent on a finding by the administration that is not duplicative or wasteful based on a government-wide review of climate change research,” the document notes.
Committee Democrats said the budget should protect the National Science Foundation from political interference, as congressional Republicans have pushed for more oversight into the awarding of grants.
As the world experiences significant changes tied to climate change, such as extreme weather and droughts, Congress has a responsibility to study the problem of climate change so it can work toward a solution, lawmakers said. That will be more difficult if Republicans continue in “lockstep” with the Trump administration, said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), the committee’s ranking member.

“It is clear to see the stark contrast in priorities when you compare the minority views to the majority’s,” she said. “While the majority looks to continue its assault on any research they don’t like and the EPA, the minority hopes to continue our strong support of R&D and innovation enterprises, invest in clean energy research, and work to learn about and combat climate change.”

Twitter: @scottpwaldman Email: swaldman@eenews.net