On June 14, 2018, the Washington Post reported that the Department of Interior (DOI) posted a set of guidelines on their internal website requiring US Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to submit the titles of their presentations and an “attendee justification” for review by political appointees if they wished to attend either the American Geophysical Union (AGU) or the Geological Society of America (GSA) conferences. If their presentations did not align with Secretary Zinke’s priorities, they would be barred from attending these conferences.
The administration claimed that this new measure was in the best interest of the budget. According to a DOI spokeswoman, the administration believes that “if taxpayer dollars are being spent to send someone to a conference,” they should have “some degree of confidence that their attendance will advance the department’s priorities.” Secretary Zinke’s priorities include “sustainably develop our energy and natural resources,” “protect our people and the border” and “strike a regulatory balance.” Former USGS director, Chip Groat, called the DOI’s guidelines “inappropriate” and former Clinton interior secretary Bruce Babbitt referred to the development as “a form of censorship.”