This is why
1) The executive branch, and
2) the congress, and
3) the press ...
... are all held in low esteem.
Specifically:
1) Yes, the Bush administration has been interfering with the work of
government scientists and falsifying their reports. This has been
going on for years, on a grand scale. It has been discussed in this
forum on several occasions. Copious documentation is available, e.g.
from http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/a-to-z-guide-to-political.html
2) It is pathetic to see congressmen just now "discovering" this issue.
It reminds me of Captain Renault being "shocked, shocked to find
that gambling is going on" in Rick's Café Americain. Meanwhile the
Republicans are telling us no, no, no gambling is going on.
3) It is pathetic to see how AP reported it. You could argue that they
faithfully reported on the /hearings/ ... but they utterly failed to
report on the /issue/. They just took quotes from the hearings and
put them on the wire ... with no analysis, no thought, no context. The
AP report made it sound like there might have been just one isolated
event. Seriously, folks, how much trouble would it have been for them
to get some background, from UCS or elsewhere?