"A move by conservative lawmakers and business groups to fundamentally alter how science is used in crafting environmental policy has a greater chance than ever of becoming law.

The "Secret Science Reform Act" has been pushed by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) for years. It would require that U.S. EPA use only "transparent or reproducible" science to develop regulations and that such scientific data be posted online so that they can be scrutinized.

Proponents argue that the legislation simply makes science transparent and allows for independent scrutiny to ensure science is not politically tainted before it influences policy.

Democrats and scores of scientific organizations say the measure would have a crippling effect, since large-scale studies are not easy to reproduce and some industry data can't be made public."

Scott Waldman reports for ClimateWire January 9, 2017. [2]