Senate Democrats allege Trump administration has buried 1,400+ climate studies
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Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Photo. Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Senate Democrats alleged in a new report Thursday that the Trump administration has censored more than 1,400 studies on climate change across the government, Politico reports.
Why it matters: To the extent these claims are accurate, it illustrates the reach of President Trump's moves to stifle established climate science. It's also a sign of how much of a political football climate change has become between the two parties.
Details: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) released a list of over 1,400 climate studies by Department of Agriculture researchers, many of which warn of the potential effects of climate change on the public and on the agriculture sector, specifically. The agency released the studies after Politico reported in June that the USDA had purposefully buried its own researchers' findings.
- Research included in the Democrats' report lays out the potentially harmful effects of climate change on crop production. The issue is increasingly important for farmers throughout the Midwest who have suffered from extreme weather's toll on harvests.
What they're saying: Stabenow said it is "outrageous" that "critical information for communities, for farmers, for those of us who care deeply about what’s happening to agriculture, these are not being shared with the people who need to know."
The other side: A USDA spokesperson said allegations of the department suppressing findings are false.
- "We have repeatedly provided the Senate Agriculture Committee with evidence to the contrary, and the department has been transparent and communicative to the committee in response to their questions on research," the spokesperson said.
- The spokesperson added that "the list of studies linked in the report were provided by the USDA to the committee and are all publicly available."
Between the lines: Climate change has become an increasingly prominent issue in the Democratic Party, with 2020 candidates partaking in climate-focused town halls and forums and releasing trillion-dollar plans to tackle the issue.
Go deeper: G7 highlights Trump's climate isolation
