New UCS Report: Only 13% of Federal Agencies have Adequate Safeguards Protecting Science from Political Interference

Banning the sale of Plan B to people under 17 despite evidence that it is safe for all ages. Lies about the air quality surrounding the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks. Failure to ban a pesticide proven to damage the neurological functioning of children. Despite these and 323 other violations of scientific integrity that have occurred under the past four presidential administrations, only five out of 38 federal government agencies have strong safeguards in place to protect against the burying of scientific reports, suppression of data, censoring of agency scientists and other attacks on science, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The report, "Protecting Government Science from Political Interference: A Blueprint for Defending Scientific Integrity and Safeguarding the Public," lays out past breaches in scientific integrity and how they have harmed the public, explains why protecting scientific integrity and defending government science from political interference is important, and outlines the steps agencies must take to defend federal science against the powerful forces of money and politics.

"Scientific integrity is critical to protecting people, the environment and our democracy," said Dr. Jennifer Jones, the director of UCS' Center for Science and Democracy. "By safeguarding science and scientists, we can ensure uncompromised facts are available for federal employees and elected officials to consider when making decisions and that when decision-makers ignore those facts the public can hold them accountable."

Politicians and government officials have long disregarded facts for political and economic reasons. Over a century ago President Woodrow Wilson downplayed the significance of the 1918 flu pandemic to keep morale up for World War I. And although 94% of the scientific integrity violations that occurred during the past four presidential administrations happened under Republican leadership, the sidelining of science has occurred across the political spectrum.

"It's time to turn the tide against decisions dictated by politics and money instead of fact," said Jones. "And to do that federal government agencies need to implement strong scientific integrity policies."

Strong scientific integrity policies and practices that establish transparency, consistency and accountability in federal agency systems would help ensure policy is based on independent and reliable science, according to the report.

"We commend the five agencies who have put strong safeguards in place and urge the other 33 to follow suit," said Jones. Those are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. Other agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have weak or outdated policies or practices.

"We urge Congress to pass the Scientific Integrity Act, which has bipartisan support and would codify scientific integrity protections into law," said Jones. "Safeguarding science and facts is not a luxury we can afford to go without."

For more, see Anita Desikan's post on the UCS blog

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