Gordon Letter to FAA Regarding Aircraft Wiring Safety
July 2, 2008 Hon. Robert Sturgell Administrator (Acting) Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20591 Dear Mr. Administrator: It has been more than a decade since two airliners - TWA Flight 800 and Swissair Flight 111 - crashed with the loss of four hundred and fifty-nine lives. Subsequent investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada identified faulty wiring as a critical contributing … Continue Reading
July 02, 2008Gordon Letter to President Bush in Support of International Cooperation in Carbon-Capture Technology
July 2, 2008 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Bush: I am writing to add my support to the global strategy to launch 20 carbon capture and storage demonstration projects by 2010 as recommended by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF). I was pleased to see that the Joint Statement by the G-8 Energy Ministers on June 8, 2008, … Continue Reading
June 26, 2008FutureGen Subpoena Memo
Read the … Continue Reading
June 19, 2008Gordon/ Wu/ Udall Letter Expressing Concern Over the Release of Plutonium at NIST's Boulder Laboratory
June 19, 2008 Dr. James Turner Acting Director National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1070 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1070 Dear Dr. Turner, We are writing this letter to express our concern over the accidental release of plutonium at NIST's Boulder Laboratory on June, 9. We are relieved to learn there were no immediate injuries due to the incident, however we are troubled by changing information, that health and safety protocols were not strictly followed, … Continue Reading
June 11, 2008Miller letter to DHS to Withdraw Inappropriate Classification of Students as “Security Threats”
June 6,2008 The Honorable Michael Chertoff Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security 245 Murray Lane, S. W. Washington, D.C. 20528 Dear Secretary Chertoff: It recently came to my attention that a number of foreign graduate oceanography students who had applied to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to allow them access to American ports were denied this credential and told that they have been determined … Continue Reading
June 11, 2008Miller Letter to OMB Asking for the Release Documentation on Toxic Chemical
Ms. Susan DudleyAdministratorOffice of Information and Regulatory AffairsOffice of Management and BudgetThe New Executive Office BuildingRoom 5001725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503Dear Ms. Dudley,As you know, the Subcommittee has been working to understand the process by which the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget manages proposed entries to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System … Continue Reading
April 16, 2008Letter to the President Supporting the American COMPETES Act
April 16, 2008 The Honorable George W. Bush United States President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: As leaders of America's business, academic and research communities, we are deeply concerned about the state of our country's competitive position in the world. Though there are many issues relevant to protecting our interests in the global marketplace, none is more pressing than the need for additional funding for scientific … Continue Reading
April 09, 2008Miller Letter Questioning the CDC's Investigation of Potential Beryllium Exposure Surrounding the Brush Wellman Facility
April 9, 2008Dr. Julie Gerberding Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry1600 Clifton Road NEAtlanta, Georgia 30333Dear Dr. Gerberding:The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Science and Technology Committee is continuing to investigate the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The Committee’s concerns go well beyond the agency’s indefensible handling of its … Continue Reading
April 02, 2008Lampson Letter to DOE Questioning Changes to FutureGen
April 2, 2008 The Honorable Samuel W. Bodman Secretary of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 Dear Secretary Bodman: The Subcommittee is interested in learning how the Department came to so abruptly change direction on how to proceed with the FutureGen project. In fact, it looks as if the project has been fundamentally abandoned in favor of a new, unauthorized approach for which no money has been appropriated. Read the complete letter to Secretary Bodman … Continue Reading
April 02, 2008Letter to CDC Urging Whistleblower Protection and Job Restoration for Dr. De Rosa
April 1, 2008 Dr. Julie Gerberding Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 1600 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30333 Dear Dr. Gerberding: On February 6, 2008, we wrote to you asking you to protect Dr. Chris De Rosa, formerly head of the Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), from retaliation for whistleblowing. … Continue Reading
February 15, 2008Committee Letter to GAO Requesting an Investigation of FutureGen
February 15, 2008 The Honorable David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G. Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20548 Dear Mr. Walker: On January 31, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a significant departure from its clean coal initiative, FutureGen. Originally conceived in 2003, FutureGen was touted as a pollution-free power plant of the future intended to showcase cutting-edge technologies to address climate change … Continue Reading
February 13, 2008Gordon Letter to the NRC Urging Them to Reject Bid for Disposal of Foreign Radioactive Waste in the U.S.
February 12, 2008 The Honorable Dale Klein Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 11555 Rockville Pike One White Flint North Rockville, Maryland 20852 Dear Chairman Klein: On November 27, 2007, I wrote to you to express my concerns about an application submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by EnergySolutions, Inc., for a license to import 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) … Continue Reading
February 07, 2008Gordon, Miller, Lampson Support Whistleblower and Question ATSDR Actions
February 6, 2008Dr. Julie Gerberding Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry1600 Clifton Road NEAtlanta, GA 30333Dear Dr. Gerberding: The Committee on Science and Technology is reviewing disturbing allegations about interference with the work of government scientists at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Dr. Howard … Continue Reading
February 04, 2008Committee’s Letter to GAO Requesting a Formal Review of NASA’s Air Safety Survey Data
February 4, 2008 David M. Walker Comptroller General Government Accountability Office 441 G Street., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20548 Dear Mr. Walker, In 1997, as a result of recommendations from the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security [1] the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated a program to track aviation safety trends quantitatively; monitor the effects of technological and procedural changes to the National Aviation System and contribute to … Continue Reading
February 01, 2008Gordon Letter to the Executive Director of the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Questioning the Plan to Import Nuclear Waste
February 1, 2008 Mr. Michael Garner, Executive Director Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Washington State Department of Ecology P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, Washington 98504-7600 Dear Mr. Garner: In September of 2007, EnergySolutions filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from nuclear reactors being decommissioned in Italy. According to that application, the waste would be … Continue Reading
January 28, 2008Miller/Lampson Letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Micheal Chertoff Regarding ATSDR Testing of Hurricane Katrina/Rita FEMA Trailers
January 28, 2008 Michael Chertoff, Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Naval Security Station 3801 Nebraska Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20393 Dear Secretary Chertoff: The Committee has information and documents that lead us to conclude that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde on Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita victims now residing in … Continue Reading
January 28, 2008Miller/Lampson Letter to the Director of the National Center for Environmental Health Regarding ATSDR Testing of Hurricane Katrina/Rita FEMA Trailers
January 28, 2008 Dr. Howard Frumkin Director, National Center for Environmental Health/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 1825 Century Blvd. Atlanta, Georgia 30345 Dear Dr. Frumkin: The stated mission of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) "is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to … Continue Reading
November 15, 2007Gordon, Miller, Udall, Costello State the Urgency of Receiving the NAOMS Survey to Administrator Griffin
November 14, 2007 Dr. Michael Griffin Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration 300 E St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 2007 Dear Administrator Griffin: During last week's hearing on aviation safety, you abandoned the prior claim of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that it could not release the safety-related data obtained as part if the National Aviation Operation Monitoring Services (NAOMS) because it would "materially affect the public confidence … Continue Reading
October 25, 2007Gordon, Miller Request All of the Records Relating to Censoring of Climate Science Testimony
Dr. John H. Marburger III, Director Office of Science and Technology Policy 725 17th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20502 Dear Dr. Marburger: In March of 2006, after several allegations of interference by the Administration with conclusions and statements made by federal scienctists in their reports - particularly as they related to climate change - you met with the principal science officials from all the federal agencies and departments. You urged them to adopt media contact policies … Continue Reading
October 22, 2007Gordon, Miller, Udall Direct NASA to Halt any Destruction of Records Relating to the NAOMS Project
October 22, 2007 Dr. Michael Griffin Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration 300 E St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007 Dear Administrator Griffin, Recently, the Committee had launched an investigation into aviation safety programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Early last week, Committee investigative staff had a telephone conversation with NASA staff concerning a survey of airline pilots about safety incidents conducted under the National … Continue Reading