FederalDaily - February 1, 2007
Bill Would Strengthen Guard
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has introduced a bill to strengthen the National Guard, giving
that arm of the service a seat with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The bill, HR 321, the National Guard
Empowerment Act of 2007, would expand the pool of Guard generals, and ensure that the deputy commander
of the U.S Northern Command comes out of the ranks of the National Guard. The bill also would require
better coordination and planning among the National Guard, DoD and the nation’s governors. In
the wake of ongoing controversy over a National Guard maritime expansion project, HR 321 would also
mandate greater transparency on budgeting for Guard equipment, said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., one of those
who rolled out the measure Jan. 30. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study cited by Davis at
a press conference points to the need for better reporting on the Guard’s domestic preparedness.
On hand with Davis as he introduced the bill were Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., and Sens. Patrick Leahy,
D-Vt., and Christopher Bond, R-Mo. To see more, go to: http://tomdavis.house.gov/cgi-data/news/files/299.shtml.
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Waxman: White House Meddling in Warming Data
Just as President Bush seems to be embracing the problems presented by global warming, allegations
have surfaced on Capitol Hill that White House political appointees have been meddling in government-sponsored
climate-change research. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee,
said at a Jan. 30 hearing that Bush administration officials had tried to “mislead the public
by injecting doubt into the science of global warming.” Waxman was reacting to surveys in which
government climate scientists said that either their research had been edited to change its meaning
or that they were told to delete references to “global warming” or “climate change.” Fifty-eight
percent of government scientists surveyed said they had personally experienced one or more incidents
of interference over the past five years, according to an assessment by the Union of Concerned Scientists
(UCS) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP). The number of incidents totaled at least 435,
GAP said. “The new evidence shows that political interference in climate science is no longer
a series of isolated incidents but a system-wide epidemic,” said Dr. Francesca Grifo, director
of the UCS Scientific Integrity Program. To see more, go to: www.whistleblower.org/doc/Atmosphere-of-Pressure.pdf.
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Senators Critical of FDA Lab-Closing Plan
A group of key senators is urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rethink its plan to consolidate
13 regional laboratories and close as many as half of them, forcing out some employees. According to
the preliminary plan—leaked to the public last month by the National Treasury Employees Union
(NTEU)—FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) plans to close between seven and nine laboratories,
leaving only four to six labs open. The proposal raised eyebrows among the senators, led by Sens. Edward
Kennedy, D-Mass., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who questioned both the wisdom and effectiveness of the
move. “We recognize that FDA faces serious budget constraints that force difficult choices,” they
wrote, “but it is far from clear that consolidating (these) labs is a reasonable response to
these difficult constraints.” NTEU, which represents more than 5,200 FDA employees, applauded
the letter on Jan. 30. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org.
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