The House of Representatives this month approved a pair of Republican-backed bills designed to reform how scientific data informs EPA regulations. The bills, each of which passed largely along party lines, will now move on to the U.S. Senate – where the new Republican majority may take an interest in moving them forward.
One bill, the “Secret Science Reform Act” (H.R. 1030), would prohibit EPA from finalizing rules that are based on science that is not “transparent or reproducible.” The legislation would also direct the agency to make publicly available online all the science, data and models that are used in the development of rules. The House passed the measure by a vote of 241 – 175.
Also approved this month was H.R. 1029, the “EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act.” This bill would add new peer-review and conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements for members of EPA’s Science Advisory Board. It passed by a vote of 236 – 181.
While both measures have advanced through the House of Representatives in previous years as well, they later died in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by Democrats. The new Republican Senate majority may be more receptive to the bills this year, but they are still unlikely to become law as President Obama issued veto threats against each proposal on March 3.