The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General (IG), is starting an Investigation into the USDA’s Handling of Climate Science and Communication after a Series of POLITICO Reports found that the Department has been routinely Burying its Work on Climate Change, even as Farmers and Ranchers are increasingly Dealing with its Harmful Effects.
The USDA’s Office of the Inspector General told Lawmakers on Monday that it has already begun a Formal Inquiry into these Concerns.
More than a Dozen Top Senate Democrats including: Senate Agriculture Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (MI), Mazie Hirono (HI), Patrick Leahy (VT), and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Formally asked the IG to Investigate in June, citing a POLITICO Investigation that showed the USDA was broadly Failing to Disseminate its own Climate Science Findings.
Lawmakers had asked the IG to look into "potential instances of suppression and alteration of scientific reports, documents, or communications" Produced by USDA.
One Case in which USDA Officials had tried to Dissuade Research Partners at a University from Disseminating their Findings about how Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels in the Atmosphere led to a Drop in Key Nutrients in Rice, the World’s most Important Crop.
A Leading USDA Crop Scientist ultimately Resigned from the Department over the Incident. “You get the sense that things have changed, that this is not a place for you to be exploring things that don't agree with someone's political views,” Lewis Ziska, a Leading Plant Physiologist said in a Wide-Ranging Interview in August. “That's so sad. I can't even begin to tell you how sad that is.”
The Investigation will Examine whether Any Changes in Policy or Processes Affected the Publication of Science or the Communication of any Research Results. It will also look at Changes in Resources and Staffing Levels, suggesting that the Probe could be quite broad.
In a Letter to Pingree on Monday, Phyllis Fong, USDA's IG, noted that there are Broader Concerns that USDA's recent Relocation of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City were "used as a means to suppress research on controversial topics such as climate change," a Situation that POLITICO also Reported Last Spring.
Roughly Two-Thirds of Positions at ERS are now Vacant after the Administration Moved the Agency to the Midwest on Short Notice.
The News of the IG investigation follows Another Report from POLITICO last week, which found that USDA is Spending Less than 1% of its Budget helping Farmers and Ranchers adapt to Climate Change while Weather becomes Increasingly Extreme and Unpredictable across the Country.
The Climate Work that continues on a Shoestring Budget at USDA is being kept Low-Profile to Avoid Political Controversy.
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