The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [3] released documents showing "hundreds of instances" where a former and current oil industry lobbyist had edited government reports to downplay the impact of human activities on global warming [4] trends. Committee chair Henry Waxman [5] (D-Calif.) said the documents suggested "a systematic White House effort to minimize the significance of climate change [6]." The edits were by Philip A. Cooney [7], the former chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality [8]. Cooney, who has no scientific credentials, worked for the American Petroleum Institute [9] prior to the Bush administration [10] position and is now working for Exxon Mobil [11]. Cooney said that his edits were meant to reflect the "most authoritative and current views of the state of scientific knowledge." NASA climate expert Dr. James Hansen [12] warned at the House hearing, "If public affairs offices are left under the control of political appointees, it seems to me that inherently they become offices of propaganda [13]."