Preserving Scientific Integrity in Federal Policymaking

The report examines the systemic challenges to scientific integrity in the US federal government, contrasting the widespread suppression of science during the George W. Bush administration with the partial progress made under Barack Obama. It argues that while the Obama administration established scientific integrity policies and improved morale, significant gaps remained in implementation, transparency, and the prevention of political interference in rulemaking. The document provides a framework and specific recommendations for the Trump administration to protect independent science, increase government transparency, and enhance public participation to ensure evidence-based decisionmaking.

• The George W. Bush administration engaged in systemic political interference in science, including the manipulation and suppression of data and the appointment of advisors based on ideology rather than credentials.
• During the Bush administration, climate science was heavily politicized; for example, Phil Cooney of the White House Council on Environmental Quality rewrote reports to exaggerate scientific uncertainty.
• The Obama administration made progress by elevating the science advisor's role and prompting 24 federal agencies to develop scientific integrity policies, though implementation remained inconsistent.
• Despite the existence of policies under the Obama administration, a 2015 UCS survey revealed that many federal scientists still perceived political interests as having too much influence, particularly at the Fish and Wildlife Service.
• The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the OMB has been a source of undue regulatory delay and political meddling in science-based rulemaking across multiple administrations.
• Both the Bush and Obama administrations were found to have ignored scientific evidence regarding the safety and availability of the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B One-Step.
• Industry interference and regulatory hurdles delayed the enactment of OSHA's silica dust rule for over 40 years, despite scientific evidence of harm since the 1930s.
• The EPA's draft report on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and drinking water contained an executive summary and press release that minimized risks, contradicting the report's own findings until corrected by the Scientific Advisory Board.

APA

Goldman, G., Reed, G., Halpern, M., Johnson, C., Berman, E., Kothari, Y., & Rosenberg, A. (2017). Preserving Scientific Integrity in Federal Policymaking. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/01/preserving-scientific-integrity-in-federal-policymaking-ucs-2017.pdf

Chicago

Goldman, Gretchen, Genna Reed, Michael Halpern, Charise Johnson, Emily Berman, Yogin Kothari, and Andrew Rosenberg. Preserving Scientific Integrity in Federal Policymaking. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2017. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/01/preserving-scientific-integrity-in-federal-policymaking-ucs-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{goldman2017preserving, author = {Goldman, Gretchen and Reed, Genna and Halpern, Michael and Johnson, Charise and Berman, Emily and Kothari, Yogin and Rosenberg, Andrew}, title = {{Preserving Scientific Integrity in Federal Policymaking}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/01/preserving-scientific-integrity-in-federal-policymaking-ucs-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }