NCSE Vice Chairman Testifies in Support of EPA Science Programs

“In order to fulfill its mission, EPA needs increased investments in both its intramural and extramural science programs,” said NCSE Vice Chairman Donald Langenberg in his testimony before the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards.  “In real dollar terms, EPA’s funding of science is nearly unchanged since 1990.  During this time, the complexity of the challenges has increased many-fold.”

Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich), Chairman of the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards, convened the hearing to examine EPA’s FY 2007 science and technology budget proposal.  Ehlers expressed his concerns about the trend in budget of EPA’s Office of Research and Development, which would decline by 6 percent under the President’s fiscal year 2007 budget request and would be down 14 percent since fiscal year 2004.  Mindful of significant constraints in the discretionary budget, Ehlers said, “just as we can’t afford to spend too much, we can’t afford to spend too little.” 

“Unfortunately EPA’s research program is in a chronically unhealthy state,” Langenberg said.  “EPA’s ability to garner the best science for its decisionmaking has been hamstrung by a severe lack of resources.  This is particularly vexing given the desire of many policymakers to move away from a ‘command and control model’ to a more flexible market-based approach to environmental performance.  A market-based approach will only succeed if all participants have access to high quality science-based information on which to make their decisions. Additional science is needed to develop metrics of success and to monitor progress toward desired outcomes.”

The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) urges Congress to appropriate a minimum of $700 million for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (bringing it back to FY 2004 levels), including at least $150 million for EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research grants program and $20 million for EPA’s STAR graduate fellowship program.  NCSE recommends a total of $900 million for EPA’s Science and Technology account.

The complete testimony of Donald Langenberg, NCSE Vice Chairman and Chancellor Emeritus of the University System of Maryland, is available online.  Other witnesses who testified at the hearing were: George Gray, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development; M. Granger Morgan, Chair, EPA Science Advisory Board and Professor of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University; and Mr. Jeff Ruch, Executive Director, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.  Additional information about the hearing is available at http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/index.htm.

Craig M. Schiffries, Ph.D.
Director of Science Policy
National Council for Science and the Environment
1707 H Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202-530-5810
E-mail: policy@NCSEonline.org