Letter to EPA Administrator: Halt Dismantlement of Library System
November 30, 2006 The Honorable Stephen Johnson Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Dear Administrator Johnson: We are writing to express our serious concerns over the current implementation of your plan to reorganize the library system of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We understand that EPA is in the process of closing libraries and dispersing and destroying materials. Additionally, the General Services … Continue Reading
November 21, 2006Response From Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Concerning Status of Documents at Public Reading Rooms
November 21, 2006 The Honorable Bart Gordon Ranking Member, Committee on Science United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Congressman Gordon: I am writing in response to your letter dated October 27, 2006, wherein you requested information on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) handling of sensitive unclassified information following the events of September 11, 2001. Specifically, you inquired about the availability of sensitive unclassified … Continue Reading
October 27, 2006Letters to Secretary of Energy and Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Concerning Safety Considerations in Nuclear Plant Designs
October 27, 2006 The Honorable Samuel W. Bodman Secretary U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20585 The Honorable Dale Klein Chairman U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738 More than 20 years ago, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sought advice for designing nuclear power plants to make them more secure from attack or accident. The NRC contracted with experts from the … Continue Reading
October 27, 2006Letter to Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Concerning Status of Documents at Public Reading Rooms
October 27, 2006 The Honorable Dale Klein Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738 In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) temporarily halted public access to its web-site and removed more than 1,000 documents from its publicly accessible database on the grounds that they contained sensitive security information. However, I understand that the NRC never … Continue Reading
October 04, 2006Letter to NOAA Administrator Concerning Hurricane Publication
October 4, 2006 Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. (Ret.) Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 14thStreet and Constitution Avenue, NW Room 5128 Washington, DC 20230 Dear Admiral Lautenbacher: Last week, Nature magazine reported on a troubling situation in your agency involving the suppression of science. This is just the latest in a long string of such stories that have appeared this … Continue Reading
August 29, 2006Letter to NASA Administrator Concerning NASA Advisory Council
August 29, 2006 Dr. Michael D. Griffin Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration 300 E. Street, SW Washington, DC 20546 Dear Administrator Griffin: I am writing in response to the recent developments concerning the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). In doing so, I do not dispute your right to select the members and structure for the NAC that you consider to be most responsive to your needs. That said, I am troubled by actions that - rightly or wrongly - leave a … Continue Reading
May 12, 2006Letter to the President Requesting Dismissal of NOAA Administrator and Deputy Administrator
May 12, 2006 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20502 Dear Mr. President: We write today to ask that you act expeditiously to put a new management team in place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The largest acquisition in the history of that agency is for the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). As recently as March of 2005, managers … Continue Reading
May 11, 2006Letter to the President Asking for White House Involvement in the NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy Program Review
May 11, 2006 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20502 Dear Mr. President: I know you understand how important accurate weather forecasting is to this nation's economy and to the lives of our citizens. I want to draw your attention to a troubled weather satellite acquisition involving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and … Continue Reading
April 17, 2006Letter from Rep. Brad Miller to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Requesting Release of Reports
April 17, 2006 The Honorable Margaret Spellings U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue Washington, D.C. 20202 Dear Secretary Spellings: I am writing to request again the information that I requested of you orally at the hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science on March 30, 2006, entitled "K-12 Science and Math Education Across the Federal Agencies." The information pertains to the decision by the Department of Education not to release … Continue Reading
February 16, 2006Letter to NASA Administrator on Assuring Free and Open Scientific Communication
February 16, 2006 Dr. Michael D. Griffin Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration 300E. Street, SW Washington, DC 20546 Dear Administrator Griffin: I appreciate your letter responding to my concerns about censorship of scientific findings by NASA public affairs officials. Your letter is clear and unequivocal in your position on the issue and the steps you have initiated to review and improve policies related to promoting the free and open exchange of scientific and … Continue Reading
January 25, 2006Letter to President from Rep. Gordon Recommending Implementation of Augustine Recommendations on American Competitiveness
January 25, 2006 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20502 Dear Mr. President: In recent years, a growing chorus has been calling attention to the eroding position of American firms and workers in the world economy. The National Academy of Sciences recent report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, attempts to chart a course forward that will create a vital, robust American economy with good paying … Continue Reading
December 13, 2005Letter to President Seeking Responses to Previous Communications
December 13, 2005 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20502 Dear Mr. President: As the year comes to a close, I want to draw your attention to several outstanding requests for information that have been sent by me along with other senior members of the Committee on Science. There are six letters that were sent to you or executive agencies under your direction which have never been substantively … Continue Reading
December 08, 2005Letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Concerning Lack of Social and Behavioral Aspects in Pandemic Preparedness Plan
December 8, 2005 The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt Secretary of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Dear Mr. Secretary: My staff and I have carefully reviewed the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza and the HHS Pandemic Influenza Plan. While we commend this Administration for a well-thought out agenda to finally move the biological aspects of pandemic preparedness forward in a rapid fashion (vaccine development, antivirals, and … Continue Reading
October 11, 2005Second letter to Secretary of Commerce on Mandated Report Concerning Impacts of Offshoring and Globalization
October 11, 2005 The Honorable Carlos Gutierrez Secretary, Department of Commerce Room 5421 Fourteenth Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230 Dear Secretary Gutierrez: We wrote to you on August 3, 2005, asking that you release the congressionally directed report on off-shoring professional jobs in the manufacturing and services industries. That report was due to Congress by June 30, 2004. Your response to our letter dated September 15, 2005 did provide a copy of a … Continue Reading
October 06, 2005NASA Administrator Griffin Responds to Gordon Letter on the Use of Exceptions in the Iran Nonproliferation Act
October 6, 2005 The Honorable Bart Gordon Ranking Democrat Committee on Science House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Gordon: The President has requested that NASA respond to your letter of August 22, 2005, inquiring into the Administration's rationale behind its proposed amendment to the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 (INPA) (P.L. 106-178). As you know, the Administration is committed to ensuring that any amendment to the INPA sustains the Act's key … Continue Reading
October 04, 2005Letter to Secretary of Energy Seeking Timely Delivery of Annual Report on Federal Agency Energy Efficiency Performance
October 4, 2005 The Honorable Samuel Bodman Secretary U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20585 Dear Mr. Secretary: This month you launched the president's public awareness campaign focused on energy conservation in the consumer, industry and government sectors. There is plenty of good advice in that campaign. But there are already energy efficiency obligations the Federal agencies must meet, specifically the energy efficiency goals laid out in … Continue Reading
September 30, 2005Letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency Requesting Information on National Hurricane Center Communications Regarding Hurricane Katrina
September 30, 2005 The Honorable R. David Paulison Acting Under Secretary/U.S. Fire Administrator Office ofthe Director 500 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20472 Dear Under Secretary Paulison: I write because of my committee's jurisdictional responsibilities over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and more specifically over the National Weather Service (NWS) and its National Hurricane Center (NHC). The oversight responsibilities of the Science Committee make it … Continue Reading
September 14, 2005Letter to President Requesting Information on White House Briefings by the National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Katrina
September 14, 2005 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: I write because of my committee's jurisdictional responsibilities over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and more specifically over the National Weather Service (NWS) and its National Hurricane Center (NHC). According to press reports, Max Mayfield, director of the National … Continue Reading
August 22, 2005Letter to President on Proposed Changes to the Iran Nonproliferation Act
August 22, 2005 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20502 Dear Mr. President: I have received the Administration's proposal for amending the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA). Potential modifications to the INA have important implications with respect to both foreign policy and space policy. As a result, I look forward to working closely with the Administration during Congress's … Continue Reading
August 03, 2005Letter to Secretary of Commerce Seeking Mandated Report on Impacts of Offshoring and Globalization
August 3, 2005 The Honorable Carlos Gutierrez Secretary, Department of Commerce Room 5421 Fourteenth Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230 Dear Secretary Gutierrez: Almost two years ago, Congress directed that you carry out a study of the irnpact of workfbrce globalization in knowledge-based industries. This was an effort to get the Department, through the offices of the Technology Administration, to confront ihe implications of off-shoring high-paying professional … Continue Reading