The Partial Observer by Ronald E. Bishop

The Dismantling of Science

From July 21–24, I participated in a Science Defense Fly-In hosted by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Earthjustice. Teams of scientists from across the U.S. met with a bipartisan mix of House members, senators, and/or their staff people. Our primary objectives were to increase co-sponsorship of H.R. 1106: the Scientific Integrity Act, to help the launch of a Senate version of that bill, and to rescue what’s left of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research & Development (with its vital Integrated Risk Information System) and the Centers for Disease Control’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

The Scientific Integrity Act is designed to ensure that agencies use robust and independent science in their decision-making processes, and that federal science and scientists are properly protected from inappropriate political influence. It would codify scientific integrity protections at the national level, establishing the strongest protections for federal scientists and their work that we have seen in modern history. Most importantly, the act vests Congress, not the Executive Branch, with authority over the conduct of federal science.