The White House Strikes Again

The Washington Post reports (July 9, 2008):

Members of Vice President Cheney's staff censored congressional testimony by a top federal official about health threats posed by global warming, a former Environmental Protection Agency official said yesterday.

In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), former EPA deputy associate administrator Jason K. Burnett said an official from Cheney's office ordered last October that six pages be edited out of the testimony of Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gerberding had planned to say that the "CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern."

Comment: The Center for Disease Control is a prototypical governmental institution, protecting public health in ways that are only possible to the government. Dr. Gerberding is one of the most respected and competent public health officials in the world, with deep training matured by decades of public service. How dare the people in the White House edit her testimony to Congress! JAD