Explanation: Personnel Changes

Explanation: Personnel Changes
Date | Action | Agency | Explanation | Scientists Affected | Summary | |
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2018-03-29 | DOL Advisory Boards Suspended | US DOL | Personnel Changes | Other | One DOL advisory board – the Council on Occupational Safety and Health – has been disbanded and four others have had their operations suspended. As of March 2018, the boards had not met in at least nine months. |
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2018-03-06 | EPA Science Advisory Board Unofficially Suspended | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | As of March 2018, EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) had not met in at least six months, leading to concerns among members that EPA is trying to sideline the board. According to members, ordinarily, the SAB would have multiple interactions (including in-person meetings and teleconferences) during any six month period. |
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2018-02-27 | EPA Research Center to be Eliminated | US EPA | Budget Cuts, Personnel Changes | Other | EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research, which distributes grants for research on the effects of chemical exposure, will be eliminated as part of an agency reorganization involving the merger of three research offices. |
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2018-02-06 | National Science and Technology Council to be Restructured | White House | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | The White House announced plans to restructure the interagency National Science and Technology Council, which was established in 1993 to coordinate science policy across the federal government. The restructure will be overseen by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which has requested input from 20 federal agencies. |
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2018-02 | DOI Secretary Accused of Breaching Scientific Integrity Policy | US DOI | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | Two senior scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey resigned in protest over an alleged breach of the USGS’s scientific integrity policy by the Secretary of the Interior. |
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2017-12-31 | Trump Administration Fails to Fill Science Positions | White House | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | As of December 31, 2017, President Trump had filled fewer government science positions than any other recent President, at the same point in time. Just 20 of the 83 positions designated by the National Academies of Sciences as “science appointees” had been filled. |
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2017-12-05 | Trump Science Nominees Lack Qualifications | All | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | Of 43 Trump administration nominees in science-related positions, only 41% had a master’s degree or doctorate in a science field, compared to 58% under President Obama. |
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2017-12 | Fewer Scientists Employed by EPA in 2017 | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Other | Over 200 scientists left EPA in 2017, most of whom have not been replaced. Over the course of 2017, EPA hired just 7 scientists. |
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2017-12 | FDA Food Advisory Committee Disbanded | US HHS | Personnel Changes | Other | The food advisory committee, the only body dedicated to advising the Food and Drug Administration on food-related science policy, was disbanded. |
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2017-12 | OSHA Advisory Committees Suspended | US DOL | Personnel Changes | Other | The Occupational Health and Safety Administration announced plans to re-evaluate the work of its advisory committees. |
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2017-10-31 | EPA-Funded Scientists Barred From Serving on Advisory Committees | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Other | EPA announced that scientists receiving agency grants would not longer be able to serve on its advisory boards. |
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2017-10-23 | Trump Administration Fails to Appoint Science Advisor | White House | Personnel Changes | Other | As of October 23, 2017, the Trump administration had taken longer than any other to nominate a science adviser to head the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. |
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2017-09 | EPA Enforcement Agents Reassigned | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Climate | Agents in EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division were reassigned to Administrator Pruitt’s security detail, forcing them to suspend investigation of climate crimes. |
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2017-08 | National Climate Assessment Advisory Committee Disbanded | US DOC | Personnel Changes | Climate | The Trump administration disbanded an advisory committee which assisted state and local officials to use the National Climate Assessment in long-term planning. |
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2017-07 | DOI Scientists Involuntarily Reassigned | US DOI | Personnel Changes | Climate | Approximately 50 DOI employees, including some working on climate-related issues, were involuntarily reassigned to unrelated positions. |
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2017-07 | EPA Adaptation Staff Reassigned | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Climate | EPA reassigned four staffers in the policy office, who had previously worked on climate change adaptation. |
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2017-07 | Non-Scientist Nominated for Top USDA Science Position | USDA | Personnel Changes | Other | President Trump nominated Sam Clovis, a former radio announcer and economics professor, with no “hard-science” qualifications to the USDA’s top science position. |
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2017-06-15 | DOE Office of International Climate and Technology Closed | US DOE | Personnel Changes | Climate | DOE closed the Office of International Climate and Technology which was formed in 2011 to help the U.S. provide technical advice to other nations seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. |
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2017-06 | EPA Climate Change Staff Reassigned | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Climate | EPA reallocated staff from the climate change division and climate protection partnership division to other areas. |
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2017-05-05 | EPA Scientific Advisory Board Members Dismissed | US EPA | Personnel Changes | Other | EPA dismissed at least five academics serving on its scientific review board and indicated that it may replace them with industry representatives. |
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2017-05 | DOI Advisory Boards Suspended or Eliminated | US DOI | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | DOI froze the work of more than 200 advisory boards, committees, and subcommittees to enable it to review “the charter and charge of each committee.” DOI also allowed the charter of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science to expire. |
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2017-04-10 | Forensic Science Committee Disbanded | US DOJ | Personnel Changes | Other | Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science, a 30 member advisory committee established to review forensic science standards. |
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2017-01 | DOE Advisory Board Disbanded | US DOE | Personnel Changes | Climate, Other | The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, which was a key adviser to past DOE secretaries, was reportedly “sunset.” DOE has no plans to reconstitute the board at this time. |
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2016-12-06 | Names of DOE Climate Change Staff Requested | US DOE | Personnel Changes | Climate | The Trump transition team sent, then disavowed, a survey seeking information about DOE staff who had worked on climate change. |
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2016-12 | Names of USDA Staff Working on Climate Change Requested | USDA | Personnel Changes | Climate | The Trump transition team requested information about USDA’s Office of Climate Change, including the names of all staff members. |