Joe Barton Michael Burgess Ask GAO to Review Quality Control at UN Global Warming Panel

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Michael Burgess, R-Texas, ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, today asked the Government Accountability Office to review the U.S. funding for, and the scientific integrity and reliability of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s assessments.

“Congress needs reliable scientific assessments as it considers sweeping climate change legislation intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions and address global warming concerns,” the lawmakers wrote to Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “While the IPCC plays an important role in informing policy discussions around the world, some have recently questioned the reliability of the IPCC’s findings. … Various reports have identified problems concerning the IPCC’s quality-control procedures, peer review, accessibility of data, and political influence on the assessment writing process, raising questions about the integrity of the IPCC’s assessments and conclusions.”

The lawmakers asked GAO to address the following questions:

1. How much financial support has the United States government provided to the IPCC over the past 10 years?

2. To what extent are internal controls and oversight mechanisms at the U.S. Department of State and the IPCC sufficient to ensure that U.S. contributions are spent according to the terms of their contributions?

3. To what extent do the United States Government and the IPCC’s quality assurance processes ensure the scientific integrity and reliability of the IPCC’s assessment reports?

The letter in PDF format.

Press Release May 5, 2010 Joe Barton's Web Site 2322A Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 225-3641

Steve Chabot Driehaus Does a Poll. Hides the Results!

Steve Driehaus’s campaign paid $34,000 on April 2nd, to The Feldman Group to do a poll. He has refused to release the results. In light of the fact that an independent poll was previously done by SurveyUSA showing that Driehaus was losing by 17 points (Chabot 56% - Driehaus 39%),

reasonable minds could conclude that if the poll authorized by the Driehaus campaign was positive for Mr. Driehaus, the poll results would have been released. And they haven’t been. So reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion – Mr. Driehaus is in trouble.

And no wonder. He has voted with the most liberal Speaker in our nation’s history, Nancy Pelosi, 94% of the time. He’s voted with her on the so-called stimulus package, which stimulated more government, but not jobs in the private sector; he voted with her on her budget, which is spending so much that the nation’s AAA bond rating is at risk; he voted with her on her global warming tax scheme (Cap and Trade), and he voted for her health care reform takeover, even though most Americans opposed, and continue to oppose it.

He’s even been in the Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion section of the paper twice over the last week, trying to convince us that our taxes are really low, and we ought to thank him for it! I’m not making this up.

On the campaign front, things continue to go well for the Chabot campaign. Stuart Rothenberg is editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Report, a non-partisan political newsletter that rates political races. He’s one of the top two or three most respected political oddsmakers in the country. Early last year he rated our race as “Tilts Democrat.” Some months later he moved it to a “Toss-up” race; later still to the “Tilts Republican” category; and last week upgraded our race to “Leans Republican.” Now I’m not sure exactly how much better a “Leans Republican” rating is from a “Tilts Republican,” but I know it’s good.

Obviously, with the election still six months off, there’s a lot of hard work to be done between now and Election Day – Tuesday, November 2nd. I want to thank all of you who take the time to read this blog on a regular basis. I especially want to thank you if you have forwarded the blog to your friends, or signed up to volunteer, get a yard sign, or contributed to my campaign.

This race is one of many which are being waged across America this year, that will determine the direction of our country. Are we satisfied with the explosive growth of government, the out-of-control spending, the mounting debt, and the arrogance of Washington? Or are we truly fed-up, and ready to take our country back? Remember in November.

TEXT and PHOTO CREDIT: Chabot for Congress