Earlier this week, Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. When a draft of the testimony went to the White House for review, two sections - "Climate Change is a Public Health Concern" and "Climate Change Vulnerability" - were removed, cutting the 12-page document in half. The edited sections include warnings about diseases that could spread because of global warming as well as a statement about the CDC considering global warming a serious public health concern that remains "largely unaddressed." The White House claims the testimony was edited because some of the sections did not support the science as presented in a report on global warming and public health effects by a U.N. panel that has assessed climate change for decades. Lawmakers seem to disagree: Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate committee that deals with climate change, said in a letter to President Bush that she was "deeply concerned that important scientific and health information was removed from the ... testimony at the last minute...The public has a right to know all of the facts about global warming and the threat it poses to their families and communities." Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, wrote to the White House's chief science adviser, John Marburger, demanding an explanation. "We expect our government researchers and scientists to provide both Congress and the public the full results of their taxpayer-supported work without the filter that those of opposing views might like to impose." What are your thoughts? Was it right to edit the testimony? | 
