Office of Science and Technology Policy

For years, corporations and politicians have put the public’s health and safety at risk by manipulating government science and censoring scientists in an effort to look after their own best interests.

“The specific suggestions [UCS] has offered have been critical to the overall goal of strengthening science and protecting its integrity, including the use of science by federal agencies”

—Dr. Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Please help UCS lock in much-needed government reforms that will ensure independent science informs key decisions about our health, safety, air, and water.

The Union of Concerned Scientists blew the whistle on these widespread attacks on science during the Bush administration. Now, we’re pressing the Obama administration to ensure they follow through on their stated commitment to restore scientific integrity to government decision making.

As I write this, government agencies responsible for everything from protecting our food and drugs to our air and water are developing groundbreaking new policies to protect their scientists from political pressure by special interests. But will those policies be strong—or full of loopholes?

We need your help to ensure these agencies adopt policies that truly protect science and scientists. Please become a member of UCS today.

UCS is the only organization watchdogging the entire administration to ensure it follows through on their scientific integrity commitments. And we’re providing agencies with resources to help government scientists do their best work and avoid the abuses of science we’ve documented in the past.

But we can’t do it without you. Please become a member of UCS by making a donation today.

If we have your help we can work with agencies to ensure that independent science informs key decisions about the safety of our food and medicines, the levels of toxic chemicals in our children’s toys, the quality of our air and water, and much more.

Please help UCS lock in much-needed reforms that will keep politics in its rightful and proper place and allow government scientists to do their jobs. Become a member today.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

P.S. When you join UCS, you join more than 79,000 UCS members who also believe that decisions about our health, safety, air, and water should fully consider the best available science. Please join us today and help us keep politics out of science.

Strengthening Science at the DOI
After receiving more than 10,000 comments from UCS supporters—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a strong scientific integrity policy.

Department of Interior Responds to Our Comments

Last month, we asked UCS supporters like you to submit comments regarding the Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) draft scientific integrity policy. The policy would have done little to prevent the kind of manipulation and distortion of science that has skewed decisions on everything from underwater oil drilling to endangered species.

Last Wednesday—after receiving more than ten thousand comments from UCS supporters—Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a radically different scientific integrity policy that addresses most of the issues we raised. Read our reaction here.

I heard personally from staff at the DOI that they relied heavily upon our input in shaping the new policy, and it’s clear that this public pressure convinced them to do the right thing. Together, we made sure the DOI heard loud and clear that the public supports strong actions to protect government science.

On the heels of this victory, we need to ensure strong scientific integrity standards like these are in place throughout the federal government.

In September, UCS released the results of a survey of government scientists who work on food safety—hundreds reported political interference in their work over the past year. These results clearly illustrate the need for better protection for whistleblowers, the right for scientists to speak publicly about their work, and other critical reforms to defend science from political interference.

In March 2009, President Obama asked the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a detailed plan to protect the integrity of science throughout the federal government. In September, the president’s science advisor told us a plan would come by the end of 2010, and we intend to hold the White House to this promise. In the meantime, you can track the administration’s progress here.

Sincerely,

Michael Halpern
National Field Organizer
UCS Scientific Integrity Program