Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 10/22/19

House and Senate Democrats angered by USDA's handling of climate-related science are getting their wish: The department's inspector general confirmed on Monday that the office is looking into whether changes in policy have affected climate science and communication at the sprawling agency.

The move comes in response to letters from Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and 17 other senators as well as Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) last summer. Lawmakers had asked the IG to look into "potential instances of suppression and alteration of scientific reports, documents, or communications" produced by USDA. Some Democrats were particularly concerned about a POLITICO investigation in June, which revealed USDA officials had tried to dissuade research partners at an outside university from disseminating their findings about nutrition losses in rice stemming from elevated CO2 levels.

The game plan: "Our objective is to determine whether changes in policy and/or processed impacted the publication of scientific reports, documents, and/or communication of USDA research results during Fiscal Years 2017-2019," Phyllis Fong, USDA's IG, wrote in a letter to Pingree on Monday. "In addition, we will analyze the impact of any changes in resources, and staff experience levels on the publication of research results during this period."

Investigation to have wide scope: Fong also said there are broader concerns that USDA's relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture were "used as a means to suppress research on controversial topics such as climate change," a dynamic that POLITICO also reported on last spring. The letter noted that IG staff recently met with congressional staff to discuss "our planned approach to accomplish an inspection regarding these matters."

Democrats praise move: Lawmakers late Monday lauded the news. "Across the government, inspectors general are playing a crucial role in holding this administration accountable, and I want to thank Inspector General Fong for initiating this important investigation, " Hirono said in a statement to POLITICO.

Pingree also thanked Fong. "From droughts to floods, farmers are under threat across the country because of increasingly unpredictable weather events," she said. "The allegations that the Trump Administration has suppressed USDA research which could help us mitigate the impacts of climate change raise very serious concerns."