O.C. House Leaders Target ‘Phony Science’ : Congress: Cox wants helium subsidy cut; Rohrabacher plans to scrutinize programs under the energy panel he chairs.

WASHINGTON —  Hot air, dirty air and the “junk” science used to attract federal government subsidies to study energy and environmental programs came under attack Thursday by two Orange County representatives intent on deflating the federal budget.

In the first of two separate Capitol Hill news conferences, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), the new chairman of the House Energy and Environment subcommittee, said his panel would investigate “charges that political pressure was put on people to make scientific statements” to support some studies that help certain special interests or private corporations.

Refusing to outline the charges until next week when the subcommittee begins considering budget cuts for the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rohrabacher said every program under the committee’s jurisdiction will undergo tough scrutiny.

Also on Thursday, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) prepared to introduce a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) that would get the federal government out of the obsolete helium business--a program Cox has long assailed as the epitome of a bloated bureaucratic boondoggle.

Established seven decades ago to field blimps in wartime--the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station last housed the blimps in 1949--the federal program has continued to produce the gas while the federal government has been required to buy it back at inflated prices, according to Cox.

Even though the program is in debt and the stockpile is large enough to last more than 100 years, it has survived numerous budget-cutting attempts. The Clinton Administration’s budget released this week proposed phasing it out.

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In his earlier news conference, Rohrabacher joined the chorus of other Republicans who have criticized the Clinton Administration’s budget for not proposing enough spending cuts. The Administration’s budget for agencies under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Environment subcommittee totals $7.8 billion--a 6% increase in spending, Rohrabacher said.

“Every dollar is going to be looked at and justified. There will be no sacred cows whatsoever,” Rohrabacher said, pledging that the subcommittee would be an “activist” panel.

“The fact is, sometimes public-private partnerships just end up being government subsidies for selected businesses,” Rohrabacher said, adding that Congress cannot threaten to take people off the welfare rolls and then leave unchecked the research funding that goes to private companies and special interests. He said he supports “long-term, high-risk but potential high-payoff” research and development programs but that commercialization should be left to the private sector.

Rohrabacher said he believes the EPA and Energy Department have many programs that “need to be justified on the basis of their scientific validity rather than on things that may have appeared to be trendy a few years ago but are not trendy today.” The “phony science,” he claimed, has scared “the American people to death.”

A spokesman for the EPA had no comment on Rohrabacher’s claims. At the Energy Department, spokesman Phil Keif said the agency has systematically reviewed research projects for their validity.

“We go to great lengths to make sure they are not phony with a very pensive, peer review process,” Keif said.

Later, Cox and Reps. Scott Klug (R-Wis.) and Dick Zimmer (R-N.J.) held a news conference to tout proposed bills that would privatize the helium reserve, as well as the Naval Petroleum Reserve--both labeled wasteful programs by the bills’ sponsors.

The President’s budget proposal to phase out the helium program does not go far enough because it simply cancels the program’s $1.4-billion debt to the U.S. Treasury, Cox said.

Instead, Cox’s bill would require that the helium reserves be sold, with the proceeds going toward repayment of the debt.

Although the legislation has received bipartisan support in the past, Cox said the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate will help the sponsors “get past the finish line.”