White House Eliminates a Third of Federal Advisory Committees

Statement by Gretchen Goldman, Union of Concerned Scientists

Published Jun 14, 2019

WASHINGTON (June 14, 2019)—The White House just issued an executive order directing that federal agencies eliminate one-third of their federal advisory committees, many of which provide vital scientific advice across the government on everything from air and water pollution to drug safety and foodborne illnesses.  The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has been tracking the abandonment of science advice under the Trump administration. 

Below is a statement by Gretchen Goldman, the research director with the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS. 

“For the past two years they have been shrinking and restricting the role of federal science advisory committees. Now they’re removing the possibility of even making decisions based on robust science advice. It's no longer death by a thousand cuts. It's taking a knife to the jugular.”