New Head Of House Panel Funding NIH Rejects Reality Of Warming, Darwinian Evolutionary Theory
Oh, and he's a southern Republican, just in case you were wondering.
Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA), the incoming chair of the U.S. House of Representatives panel that controls the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has a long-standing reputation as a conservative budget hawk intent on reducing government spending. He's also known for being skeptical that humans are contributing to climate change and for rejecting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. But although that record might make many scientists anxious, his reputation as an inside operator who understands the importance of funding research makes many science boosters breathe a little easier.
"We are looking forward to working with him," said Mary Woolley, president of the advocacy group Research!America in Alexandria, Virginia. "He has made clear his support for breast cancer funding and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He's the kind of person who gets the job done."
Kingston, a 10-term congressman, is taking over the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies from Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT), who left Congress after failing to win a Senate seat. Kingston previously chaired the appropriations subcommittee responsible for agriculture, a job in which he gained a reputation for being friendly to agricultural research.
EDIT
Kingston's spokesperson Chris Crawford says his boss is not taking the gavel with a preconceived agenda: "He really wants to identify priorities and let the subcommittee members work their will. There will be a lot of hearings with a lot of questions."
Ed. - Oh, thank God!
EDIT
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/01/new-head-of-nih-appropriations-p.html