I have no objection to cutting committees that haven't been performing or are overstaffed, but an arbitrary 1/3 cut across the board is absurd. It's the stupid move of a stupid CEO.President Trump is directing all agencies to cut their advisory boards by “at least” one third.
The executive order issued Friday evening directs all federal agencies to “evaluate the need” for each of their current advisory committees.
The order gives agencies until Sept. 30 to terminate, at a minimum, one-third of their committees.
[...]
Critics say the order is another administration attack on experts who provide scientific advice. “For the past two years they have been shrinking and restricting the role of federal science advisory committees,” Gretchen Goldman, the research director with the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union for Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. “Now they’re removing the possibility of even making decisions based on robust science advice. It's no longer death by a thousand cuts. It's taking a knife to the jugular.”
[...]
Previously, science advisory boards in particular under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Interior Department have faced numerous instances of resistance and position cuts.
Former EPA head Scott Pruitt in October 2017 issued a directive that barred scientists who received federal grants for studies from also sitting on advisory boards and committees, arguing it was a conflict of interest.
The move was widely viewed as a way to tilt the voices represented on the boards, increasing the number of members who came from industry groups.
The Hill
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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