House likely to vote on EPA ‘secret science’ bill

The House Rules Committee will vote next week on a bill to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using “secret science,” setting up a likely vote on the House floor.

The committee said will vote on the bill Tuesday, which would allow a probably vote in the full House Wednesday.

{mosads}The legislation would prohibit the EPA from issuing any regulations that rely upon scientific research that is not publicly available.

Republicans have long accused the EPA of keeping its science “secret,” which prevents public scrutiny of its conclusions.

Critics say the bill would severely handicap the EPA’s ability to write regulations necessary to fight pollution and climate change and protect the environment and human health, and would require the EPA to violate patient confidentiality.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has criticized the accusation from the GOP, saying transparency and sound science are among the agency’s priorities.

The House passed a similar bill last year, which the White House threatened to veto.

The House Science Committee passed the bill Thursday, along with another bill that would change the rules regarding the EPA’s external advisory board for scientific matters.

The advisory board bill has a similar history and was also the subject of a veto threat in 2014.