"Democrats say they fear GOP lawmakers will gut the National Science Foundation's climate change research using new legislation passed into law this year.

The bipartisan legislation enacted in January established a policy stating that the NSF must consider the intellectual merit of projects and their potential usefulness for society as well as if they are in the national interest.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said yesterday that she has concerns about allowing Congress to more closely oversee scientific research, and specifically warned that climate research could be at risk. NSF, the ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee argued, already has a long and proven track record of successful oversight, including a rigorous peer-review process to determine which projects are valuable."

Scott Waldman reports for ClimateWire March 10, 2017. [2]