
What we actually lose when the USDA and EPA can’t talk to the public - beardog
http://www.popsci.com/usda-epa-science-gag-order-government
======
finid
_On Monday, news broke that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now
barred from communicating with the public. That means no press releases,
blogs, messages, or social media postings. And early this morning, Buzzfeed
revealed that The US Department of Agriculture has banned scientists and other
employees in its Agricultural Research Service division from sharing the
results of its taxpayer-funded research with the broader public._

Well, no surprise here, because they told us what they would do if elected.
And this is just a continuation of what happened towards the end of the last
Bush admin when govt scientists were required to clear any publicly-directed
communication with political appointees.

~~~
rayiner
The Constitution commits the executive branch to the control of an elected
official: the President. Direct communications with the public undermines the
notion that agencies are simply bodies that exist to assist the President, and
reinforces the notion that they are an unelected fourth branch of government
with their own continuity and agendas.

To use an analogy: Samsung should be forthright to the public about exploding
Note 7's. But that doesn't mean that Samsung's engineering department should
be issuing its own press releases.

~~~
msrpotus
Would you be arguing that if Hillary Clinton had won and ordered the FBI to
stop communicating with the public?

Somehow I doubt it.

~~~
rayiner
The Constitution doesn't change depending on who is in power. I happen to
agree with the folks that think the administrative state is basically
unconstitutional:
[https://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv22n2/delegation.pdf](https://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv22n2/delegation.pdf).
But I'd also love for Congress to pass laws outright banning coal use,
gasoline cars, and dumping pollutants into waterways.

~~~
yarou
> But I'd also love for Congress to pass laws outright banning coal use,
> gasoline cars, and dumping pollutants into waterways.

The Constitution hasn't been respected in decades. There is an entrenched deep
state in the US, controlled by powerful corporate and industrial interests
that are accountable to no one.

------
User23
These agencies currently have no top leadership. My understanding is that this
is just temporary until new cabinet secretaries are confirmed and can set
communications policies. They don't want a situation where they have to issue
releases a week later saying "strike that, reverse that!"

This site is where the sober-minded logical people go to discuss things, so
let's save the anti-Trump panic for when the FEMA death camps open up or
something.

~~~
euyyn
So this has happened every time the presidency has changed from one party to
the other?

~~~
dhfhduk
I heard a news report that what happened at DHHS was normal. What happened at
the EPA was not.

The USDA has since released some statement that there was some confusion, and
the gag order email should not have gone out and was incorrect.

------
JumpCrisscross
> _On Monday, news broke that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now
> barred from communicating with the public_

No, an "an internal email sent to staff at [the USDA's] Agricultural Research
Service unit this week calling for a suspension of 'public-facing documents,
including news releases and photos, WAS FLAWED AND...NEW GUIDANCE WOULD BE
ISSUED TO REPLACE IT" [1] (emphasis mine).

From what I can tell, _Popular Science_ got this drivel from this Buzzfeed
article [2].

EDIT: Pardon me, got the EPA and USDA confused.

[1] [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-usda-
idUSKBN1582...](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-usda-
idUSKBN1582OB)

[2] [https://www.buzzfeed.com/dinograndoni/trump-
usda?utm_term=.q...](https://www.buzzfeed.com/dinograndoni/trump-
usda?utm_term=.qlrNQBKNzX#.peZwEnawdB)

~~~
burkaman
The EPA order is real, and separate from the USDA one:
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/environmental-
protection...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/environmental-protection-
grants-staff_us_5886825be4b0e3a7356b575f)

Edit: You can see the full list of gag order reports here:
[https://sunlightfoundation.com/list-of-federal-government-
ag...](https://sunlightfoundation.com/list-of-federal-government-agencies-
told-not-to-communicate-with-the-public/)

~~~
JumpCrisscross
You're right--thank you. Sincere apologies to Buzzfeed :)

