Политика

Democrats demand answers from USDA on lack of climate science promotion

Several Democrats criticized Monday the Trump administration after POLITICO reported the Agriculture Department has largely stopped promoting its own climate science.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who's also running for president, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue expressing "deep concern and alarm" over the report.

The Minnesota Democrat asked the department to explain its justification for not publicizing certain studies and to immediately release "any [Agricultural Research Service] study related to climate science that was ignored, downplayed, or its findings held back."

"When federally-funded scientific research is curtailed or withheld because of its attention to the consequences of climate change, farmers are cut out of participating in climate solutions and, at worst, unable to effectively mitigate and adapt their operations and infrastructure to its effects," she wrote.

Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)

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the story, calling it "outrageous."

"Climate change is an urgent threat to our farmers," she said. "The Administration should not be burying vital research that will help us understand and combat the effects of climate change."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also

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"While our farmers fight against #ClimateChange, #USDA is shamefully fighting against #science," he wrote.

In addition to Klobuchar, two other 2020 contenders logged their disapproval. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)

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about the story twice today and issued a statement.

"Our farmers and ranchers know as well as anyone the devastating effects of climate change, because they're living with the realities of droughts in places like Colorado and floods in places like Iowa," he said.

Andrew Yang, a tech entrepreneur,