Continuing
Chapter 13
Budget: Back-to-Basics Rejection of Unauthorized or Expired Science Activities
A top priority should be the immediate and consistent rejection of all EPA ORD and science activities that have not been authorized by Congress.
Page 437
They want all science research to stop on things that haven’t been approved by congress, but they also don’t want anyone who allows “woke” science, so, congrats on the new research on why cows eating lithium makes better students, or something.
Several ORD offices and programs, many of which constitute unaccountable efforts to use scientific determinations to drive regulatory, enforcement, and legal decisions, should be eliminated. The Integrated Risk Information System, for example, was ostensibly designed by EPA to evaluate hazard and dose-response for certain chemicals. Despite operating since the 1980s, the program has never been authorized by Congress and often sets “safe levels” based on questionable science and below background levels, resulting in billions in economic costs.
Page 437
So, you know that train crash in Ohio, where everybody went “we’re getting sick” and the EPA was like “no you aren’t”? They want to get rid of even that, because congress didn’t authorize it.
Needed EPA Advisory Body Reforms
EPA currently operates 21 federal advisory committees. These committees often play an outsized role in determining agency scientific and regulatory policy, and their membership has too often been handpicked to achieve certain political positions.
Page 438
Which is EXACTLY what they want the next conservative president to do.
Needed Science Policy Reforms
Instead of allowing these efforts to be misused for scaremongering risk communications and enforcement activities, EPA should embrace so-called citizen science and deputize the public to subject the agency’s science to greater scrutiny, especially in areas of data analysis, identification of scientific flaws, and research misconduct.
Page 438
Why do we need scientist when every idiot has a smart phone? Citizen science gets you some great stuff, but it also gets you VAERS.
The rest of this section is about how if we don’t know the risks, we should carry on like normal. Being cautious until the science comes back is costing us too much.
Legislative Reforms
Here, again, they only want the EPA to worry about things Congress says is ok. Congress is NOT going to approve SO MANY THINGS. And we are just supposed to sit by and let it damage us, our water, our land. I’m sure there are all sorts of independently wealth scientists just sitting around waiting to prove something is dangerous then go to Congress, but, they’ve been quiet lately.
AMERICAN INDIAN OFFICE (AIO)
All EPA tribal grants and tribal matters should be run from this office as a one- stop-shop for all tribal affairs.
Page 440
How does this fit with everything else they said?
OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC)
OGC serves as the chief legal adviser to EPA’s policymaking officials. It also pro- vides legal support to regional actions and enforcement and compliance litigation. OGC lawyers represent the agency in court alongside the Department of Justice, typically defending agency actions.
Page 441
Needed Reforms and New Policies
Here they wan an established policy of speaking with one voice, and that voice must not be political or woke.
They want some offices consolidated, and they only want lawyers speaking.
Which will go well with the “why do we need scientists?” theme of this chapter.
The budget will increase through them defunding other areas.
OFFICE OF MISSION SUPPORT (OMS)
OMS leads the agency’s core mission support functions to improve efficiency, coordination, and customer experience for internal customers, stakeholders, and the public, including protection of EPA’s facilities and other critical assets nationwide, acquisition activities (contracts), grants management, human capital, information technology, and information management activities.
Page 443
Grant Reform
This grantmaking—discretionary and otherwise—is driven by ideology instead of need. Of particular concern is a practice whereby numerous small-dollar grants are administered to a great number of grantees while larger grants are given to academic institutions.
Page 443
Thankfully a conservative president only gives money to family and supporters, not ideology or need.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (OCFO)
EPA has been audited by the agency’s Inspector General for decades, well beyond accepted norms for private-sector financial audits. Audit teams should be diversified.
We should look into where the money is going. But not too often.
Review travel and reimbursement policies for best practices aligned for industry norms.
Page 444
You know, I think this is fine, but also, listen to the people you want to control.
This isn’t about the EPA, but when I worked for the census bureau one year, I was working in rural Indiana. We had to send our milage to be approved by someone in Chicago. Weirdly, I, and others in the area, were only getting a handful of houses done, with huge milage expenses. Why couldn’t we be more like the people working in Chicago who could get 100 households a day with no milage? Because the workers in Chicago were going to apartment buildings, and we were going to farms.
This is what I always think of when I read about people wanting to cut travel expenses.
CONCLUSION
A more conservative EPA that aligns with the policies outlined in this chapter will lead to a better environmental future without unintended consequences. It will prevent unnecessary expenditures by the regulated community, allowing for investment in economic development and job creation, which are keys to thriving communities. Cutting EPA’s size and scope will deliver savings to the American taxpayer. Improved transparency will serve as an important check to ensure that the agency’s mission is not distorted or coopted for political gain. Importantly, a conservative EPA will deliver tangible environmental improvements to the American people in the form of cleaner air, cleaner water, and healthier soils.
Page 445
Have you seen ANYTHING in this chapter that shows how they will make cleaner air, water, or soil? All I’ve seen is how they want to cut regulations and funding.
That is it for Chapter 13. Next up is 14, Department of Health and Human Services.
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