Senator blasts White House for editing global warming testimony

Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, blasted the White House on Thursday for severely editing a key government witness' written testimony on the health effects of global warming.

On Tuesday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Julie Gerberding, appeared before Boxer's panel and read from an opening statement. That six-page statement had been cut in half by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which removed almost all of the concerns she'd been prepared to raise, including her view that the "CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern."

The excised testimony said that climate change is likely to "to have a significant impact on health" because of heat, extreme weather events, increased air pollution, allergies, diseases and mental health problems.

	White House Chided for Editing Testimony	Associated Press	Wed Oct 24	1
	White House: Report Not `watered Down'	Associated Press	Tue Oct 23	6
	CDC congressional testimony severely edited by White House	CNN	Wed Oct 24	0
	Sources: White House cut testimony - What is the government hiding about the health risks of global warming?	CNN	Wed Oct 24	2
	CDC Director's unedited report to Congress available here.	NRDC Blog	Fri Oct 26	0