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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
CDC director edited. So what?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Voters elect governors and the President on the basis of their values, pledges and agendas. In carrying out those promises and in pursuit of those agendas, they should be able to hire and fire at will — and to determine which issues their subordinates are to emphasize in public appearances and in congressional testimony.
The flap of the day is the revelation that White House officials “severely edited” proposed congressional testimony by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Julie Gerberding.
The Administration is said to have removed “specific references to potential health risks” of global warming.
She told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that it’s “anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans,” but confined her prepared testimony to CDC’s preparation. During questioning, she did cite specific diseases that she thought would be affected.
An unnamed CDC official who was the basis of the Associated Press account said the proposed testimony was “eviscerated” during a customary review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, with the proposed testimony reduced to six pages from 14.
A spokesman for the OMB said reviews of proposed testimony by subordinates consider “whether they…line up well with the national priorities of the administration.”
So Gerberding’s testimony has been edited to reflect the administration’s priorities. And U.S. attorneys are fired for the same reason. Where’s the offense?
