Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Bob Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The letter reminds Perciasepe of EPA's July 2013 commitment to EPW Republicans that the Agency would initiate a process to release data used to justify multiple rulemakings under the Clean Air Act (CAA), while simultaneously developing processes for protecting personal health information (PHI).

"The EPA agreed to eliminate concerns with their continued use of ‘secret science' to justify their expensive regulations under the Clean Air Act. However, they've had eight months now, and we're still waiting for any indication they're working on an important part of the agreement," said Vitter. "We're not asking for something unattainable or unheard of, we just want to hold the Agency accountable for the commitment they made to us."

During the nomination process for Administrator Gina McCarthy, EPA agreed to EPW Republicans' request that the Agency acquire and adopt guidance to de-identify and code personal information from health studies, as well as work to facilitate independent verification of the data behind EPA's scientific claims under the CAA. The EPA has kept the data supporting their science hidden from the public and Congress for decades. The agreement was part of the five transparency requests made by the EPW Republicans during the nomination process of McCarthy. Click here to read about what the EPW Republicans were able to get from the EPA regarding their transparency requests.

Click here to read Vitter's letter to Perciasepe today.