WASHINGTON, DC -- Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), today reiterated their request for information on the actions of controversial former Interior Department official, Julie MacDonald, because the Department has failed to answer the lawmakers’ questions. by Rahall and Miller describes a July 6 letter from the Department as unresponsive to their ongoing congressional oversight on the topic of political interference with endangered species decisions. Their inquiry concerns Ms. MacDonald’s potential conflict of interest, her alleged disclosure of nonpublic information regarding the threatened delta smelt, and the Department’s apparent failure to adequately respond to any of these questionable actions over several years.

“The more we learn about Julie MacDonald’s role at Interior, the more concerned I become,” said Miller. “We have asked the Interior Department a series of questions, and so far the Department has failed to respond adequately to our concerns. There has been an epidemic of political interference at Interior. Congress and the public deserve to know why this political appointee was allowed to interfere in scientific decisions and in court cases to the detriment of the environment.”

Today’s letter and a May 21 congressional inquiry follow a May 9 Natural Resources Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett was questioned about controversies in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. The committee has also scheduled a July 31 oversight hearing to which Vice President Dick Cheney has been invited to testify on his apparent role in influencing scientific and policy decisions at the Department of the Interior.

Click here for the full letter to Deputy Secretary Scarlett.

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