Oversight Chair Investigates National Academies

Recent PPT op-ed highlighted politicization of NASEM

House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer today announced an investigation into the “National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (National Academies) decision to ‘fast-track’ a review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rescinding of its 2009 Endangerment Finding without authorization from a U.S. government agency.”

PPT Director Michael Chamberlain’s op-ed in the Washington Examiner last week highlighted how the National Academies “has dived head-first into many progressive policy priorities and fallen prey to other destructive influences.” The decision to proactively commence this review is just the latest example of this. Chamberlain commented on Rep. Comer’s investigation:

“As with too many of our once-venerated institutions, NASEM has drifted far from its mission, following the tide of progressive political priorities and the resulting conflicts of interest that follow. In the past, Ms. McNutt claimed the Academies could not proactively investigate the origins of COVID because their “charter states that the government calls on the Academies to conduct studies, not the other way around.” Yet, they showed absolutely no qualms or hesitation about taking the initiative to conduct a fast-track study on an issue that would likely put them firmly in opposition to government policy. This is just the latest example, as the Oversight Committee letter points out, of NASEM responding to ideological or financial influences, rather than their commitment to science. Whether their action is just inappropriate or also unlawful remains to be seen.”

###