House Panel Spotlights Political Intereference with Endangered Species

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House Panel Spotlights Political Intereference with Endangered Species

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, May 10, 2007 (ENS) – Bush administration officials at the Interior Department have repeatedly manipulated science in order to weaken protections for endangered species, former agency officials and environmentalists told the House Resources Committee Wednesday.

The hearing prompted a key Democrat to call for the resignation of the department's deputy secretary, who endured several hours of heated questioning from the committee.

"Under your leadership we have got negligence, incompetence and political hackery," Representative Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat, told Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. "It would be helpful to have your resignation because you refuse to recognize how sick this situation is,"


The committee held the oversight hearing in the wake of the resignation of Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald – a recent Interior Department inspector general report found MacDonald pressured federal wildlife scientists and leaked confidential information on species decisions to industry and private property groups.


more:http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2007/2007-05-10-10.asp