CEI Fluffs Up Data Quality Lawsuit - October 6, 2003 Vol.4 No.20

October 6, 2003 Vol.4 No.20:

Published: 10/06/2003

Printable Version
Email to a Friend

CEI Fluffs Up Data Quality Lawsuit

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) recently amended its data quality lawsuit against the White House over a global warming study, adding violations of two statues – the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Global Change Research Act.

According to a Bureau of National Affairs’ article, CEI filed the amended complaint Sept. 4 attempting to add more facts to its original argument. CEI is seeking the withdrawal of the National Assessment on Climate Change (NACC), which is the inter-agency technical document that underlies most of the federal government's recent statements about global climate change.

In addition to the original allegations of flawed data and underlying models, CEI asserts that because the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) did not correct the flaws during report formulation, or afterwards per request, the document is arbitrary and capricious and therefore violates the Administrative Procedure Act. It is unclear how CEI believes the report violates the U.S. Global Change Research Act.

Whether agencies’ data quality guidelines are judicially reviewable remains uncertain. As precaution against immediate dismissal if the guidelines are not deemed reviewable, CEI may be adding the two additional charges in an effort to ensure its allegations against the global warming study are heard in court. There are concerns that if CEI gains standing and the court elects to hear the data quality case, then the Justice Department may not fully defend the report, given the administration’s recent position on climate change. The department stated they would file a response by Oct. 14.

CEI issued a press release Sept. 25 amid recent rumors that the White House may have solicited the lawsuit. Greenpeace obtained an email from a CEI employee to a senior official at the White House Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) through a Freedom of Information Act request that describes CEI’s plans to file a lawsuit to discredit an EPA climate change study. The message starts by saying, “Thanks for calling and asking our help.” The press release refutes any collusion with the White House, asserting the allegations are “just an attempt to divert attention from the real issue—that junk science is being used as the basis for climate change reports…” Two state Attorney Generals have called upon U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to conduct an investigation into the accusations.