Senator Carper Meets with Union of Concerned Scientists President Ken Kimmell

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, met with Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists on the heels of nationwide rallies to support the nonpartisan work of scientists.

“Over the past few months, the new administration has made numerous attempts to push alternative facts, including the new EPA administrator’s outrageous claim that CO2 does not contribute to climate change,” said Senator Carper. “While we can disagree about policy, we cannot ignore basic facts we find politically inconvenient, and we cannot attack scientists for their earnest, nonpartisan work. Scientists have been critical to our understanding of our changing planet, and they will be even more crucial in our attempts to combat the potentially devastating effects of human-caused climate change. I’m grateful to Ken Kimmell, the work of the Union of Concerned Scientists and the dedication of all our scientists in their ongoing search for the truth.”

In February, Senator Carper joined 27 Senate colleagues in introducing the Scientific Integrity Act to protect scientists from political interference. The Scientific Integrity Act was introduced in response to attempts by administration officials to bar scientists from discussing their research with the public, to single out scientists for their work and ongoing threats to have scientific publications reviewed and edited by political appointees.

Last month, Senator Carper requested information from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt following troubling reports that senior EPA officials deliberately withheld analysis of proposed legislation produced by EPA staff. The conclusion of career EPA staff revealed significantly higher costs of proposed legislation, H.R. 1430, which was later withheld from the Congressional Budget Office. Senator Carper gave EPA until May 5 to produce all documents related to analysis of H.R. 1430.

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