Three cheers to Representative Joe Barton (R-TX)

From Junk Science:

Clearing the air on the EPA
Rep. Joe Barton last week took the first official baby step in exposing the Environmental Protection Agency�s corrupt scientific advisory process.

In his opening statement at last week�s House Energy and Commerce hearing about the EPA�s 2013 budget, Mr. Barton of Texas came as close as any Republican ever has to reading EPA Director Lisa P. Jackson the riot act about the agency�s ever-increasing contempt for science, economics, Congress and even the Constitution.

While much of the aforesaid is widely known but typically left unsaid by timid congressional Republicans, Mr. Barton also raised an issue that should shock the conscience of anyone concerned about ethics in government: financial conflict-of-interest among EPA science advisers.

�I want to discuss the EPA�s science and research funding and support activities such as the quality assurance supervisory budget and the committees that monitor the EPA�s internal activities,� Mr. Barton told Ms. Jackson.

�You fund research with grants to people who also serve on your review committees. Is this a conflict of interest? Almost every single member of your Clean Air Science Advisory Committee has been directly or indirectly funded for research. This hand-and-glove policymaking by those appointed to also do your research and being funded by you at the same time is not appropriate. They are often asked to review other research they themselves were a party to on the original research team.How could one possibly expect them to be objective in any way?�

JunkScience.com undertook to put some meat on the bones of what Mr. Barton alleged and discovered that of the seven members of CASAC, six have received or still are receiving substantial sums in the form of research grants from the agency.

According to EPA records, CASAC Chairman Jonathan M. Samet is listed as a principal investigator on grants from the agency totaling $9,526,921. The other CASAC board members have received grants from the EPA: George Allen ($3,907,111); Ana Diez-Roux ($31,343,081); H. Christopher Frey ($2,956,432); G. Armistead Russell ($20,130,736); and Helen Suh ($10,962,364).

Lots more at the site. I knew that the EPA was scientifically corrupt and a perfect example of Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy but I did not realize that they were legally corrupt as well. Does not surprise me though -- the best government that money can buy...