Washington, D.C. – Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman today sent the following letter to Dr. Michael D. Griffin, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), regarding allegations that NASA officials have attempted to censor Dr. Jim Hansen, NASA’s top climate scientist. Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Lieberman requested an explanation of NASA’s policies on information sharing between government scientists, policy-makers, and the general public and of practices concerning the independence of NASA scientists’ work and statements made about their work. The text of the letter is as follows:
Dr. Michael D. Griffin
Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546
February 14, 2006
Dear Dr. Griffin,
We are writing to express our concern about recent news reports, notably in The New York Times that NASA officials have attempted to prevent Dr. Jim Hansen, NASA’s top climate scientist and Chief of the Goddard Space Flight Center's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, from fully conveying his views. If true, this type of censorship would be an impediment of one of the most basic elements of a successful government scientific agency: informing the American public.
These news reports also describe incidents in which NASA scientists were directed to shape their work or their public statements about their work in order to reflect certain priorities of the Administration.
According to The New York Times, January 29, 2006, Dean Acosta, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at NASA, said that government scientists are “free to discuss scientific findings, but that policy statements should be left to policy makers and appointed spokesmen.”
On July 18, 2001, Dr. Hansen testified before our Committee. While Dr. Hansen's testimony primarily focused on his scientific findings, he also offered his view of the policy implications of his findings. We found his testimony, including his discussion of policy implications, to be extremely informative both to our Committee and to the American public.
Maintaining the integrity of science is essential both to scientific inquiry and to the policy-making process. To that end, we believe scientists should be free to discuss both the results and implications of their research with the scientific community, policy-makers, and the American public, and to do so in a manner fully reflective of the analysis and conclusions resulting from their work. Dr. Hansen’s recent conclusion that 2005 was the warmest year on record, as well as the implications of that discovery with respect to the rate and volume of atmospheric build-up of greenhouse gases, are highly pertinent to the ongoing scientific inquiry on climate and to the continued development of climate policy in the United States. These matters go directly to questions that both scientists and policymakers must face with respect to the amount of time society has to respond to the challenge of increasing greenhouse gas emissions and to the effects of rapid climatic change.
It is imperative that scientific findings regarding the impacts of increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations – and all other scientific matters --be communicated on a timely basis without any form of censorship. It is also imperative that NASA scientists be afforded the independence necessary to pursue their work.
We appreciate your recent statement in support of scientific openness at NASA that instructs staff that it is not the job of public affairs officers to "alter, filter or adjust engineering or scientific material produced by NASA's technical staff." This is a step in the right direction; however, further clarification of NASA's information sharing policies is required.
Accordingly, we request a detailed explanation of NASA’s policies on information sharing between government scientists and policy-makers as well as the general public. We also request detailed clarification of NASA’s policies and practices regarding the independence of NASA scientists’ work and statements made about their work.
NASA has a history of scientific excellence. We look forward to working with you to ensure NASA’s continued contributions to the understanding and protection of our planet. We appreciate your prompt response to this inquiry.
Sincerely,
Senator Susan Collins Senator Joseph Lieberman
Chairman Ranking Member