Fwd: POLITICS AND SCIENCE IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

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Frank <califpacific wrote:Fri, 7 Nov 2003 02:01:52 -0800 (PST)

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POLITICS AND SCIENCE IN THE

califpacific

 

http://www.house.gov/reform/min/politicsandscience/pdfs/pdf_politics_and_science\

_rep.pdf

 

 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM — MINORITY STAFF

 

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION

 

AUGUST 2003

 

POLITICS AND SCIENCE IN THE

 

BUSH ADMINISTRATION

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

The American people depend upon federal agencies to promote scientific research

and to develop science-based policies that protect the nation’s health and

welfare. Historically, these agencies — such as the National Institutes of

Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency — have had global

reputations for scientific excellence.

 

Recently, however, leading scientific journals have begun to question whether

scientific integrity at federal agencies has been sacrificed to further a

political and ideological agenda. As the editor of Science wrote earlier this

year, there is growing evidence that the Bush Administration " invades areas once

immune to this kind of manipulation. "

 

At the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, this report assesses the treatment of

science and scientists by the Bush Administration. It finds numerous instances

where the Administration has manipulated the scientific process and distorted or

suppressed scientific findings. These actions go far beyond the typical shifts

in policy that occur with a change in the political party occupying the White

House. Thirteen years ago, former President George H.W. Bush stated that " [n]ow

more than ever, on issues ranging from climate change to AIDS research . . .

government relies on the impartial perspective of science for guidance. " Today,

President George W. Bush’s Administration has skewed this impartial perspective,

generating unprecedented criticism from the scientific community and even from

prominent Republicans who once led federal agencies.

 

The Administration’s political interference with science has led to misleading

statements by the President, inaccurate responses to Congress, altered web

sites, suppressed agency reports, erroneous international communications, and

the gagging of scientists. The subjects involved span a broad range, but they

share a common attribute: the beneficiaries of the scientific distortions are

important supporters of the President, including social conservatives and

powerful industry groups.

 

The report identifies over twenty scientific issues affected by the undermining

of science, including:

 

• Abstinence education, where performance measures were changed to make unproven

" abstinence-only " programs appear effective;

 

• Condom use, where information about condom use and efficacy was deleted from

CDC’s web site;

 

• Global warming, where reports by the Environmental Protection Agency on the

risks of climate change were suppressed;

 

• Missile defense, where Defense Department officials presented misleading

information on whether a functional system could be quickly deployed; and

 

• Wetlands policy, where comments from scientists at the Fish and Wildlife

Service on the destructive impacts of proposed regulatory changes were withheld.

 

Other affected topics include HIV/AIDS, agricultural pollution, the Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge, environmental health, lead poisoning, oil and gas

exploration, prescription drug advertising, stem cells, substance abuse,

drinking water, women’s health, workplace safety, and Yellowstone National Park.

 

Across this wide range of issues, the report identifies the three principal ways

in which the Bush Administration has pursued its agenda: by manipulating

scientific advisory committees, by distorting and suppressing scientific

information, and by interfering with scientific research and analysis.

 

Manipulating Scientific Advisory Committees

 

Scientific advisory committees assure that the government hears from the

nation’s top experts in a particular field before creating policy in that area.

The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that such committees be " fairly

balanced in terms of the points of view represented " and requires that advice

and recommendations " not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing

authority or by any special interest. " The Bush Administration, however, has

repeatedly manipulated the advisory committee process to advance its political

and ideological agenda. Examples include:

 

• Appointing Unqualified Persons with Industry Ties. After dropping three

national experts in lead poisoning from the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead

Poisoning Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services appointed

several individuals with ties to the lead industry, including a lead industry

consultant who had testified that a lead level seven times the current limit is

safe for children’s brains.

 

• Appointing Unqualified Persons with Ideological Agendas. The Department of

Health and Human Services nominated as chair of the FDA’s Reproductive Health

Drug Advisory Committee an anti-abortion activist who recommends that women read

the bible for relief of premenstrual symptoms. The appointee’s principal

credential appears to be his opposition to the abortifacient RU-486. The medical

journal Lancet described his scientific record as " sparse " and wrote that " [a]ny

further

 

right-wing incursions on expert panels’ membership will cause a terminal decline

in public trust in the advice of scientists. "

 

• Stacking Advisory Committees. The Department of Health and Human Services

replaced 15 of 18 members of the key advisory committee to the National Center

on Environmental Health. Several of the new members were long-time industry

consultants. In response, ten leading scientists wrote in Science that " stacking

these public committees out of fear that they may offer advice that conflicts

with administration policies devalues the entire federal advisory committee

structure and the work of dedicated scientists who are willing to participate in

these efforts. "

 

• Opposing Qualified Experts. The Department of Health and Human Services

rejected a widely respected expert’s nomination to a grant review panel on

workplace safety after it became clear that she supported rules to protect

workers from musculoskeletal injuries, rules that the Bush Administration

opposes. The head of the panel called the rejection " directly opposed to the

philosophy of peer review, which is supposed to be nonpolitical and

transparent. "

 

Distorting and Suppressing Scientific Information

 

The public relies on government agencies for accurate scientific information,

evidence-based decision making on matters of life and health, and clear

explanations of complex technical matters. Under the Bush Administration,

however, Administration officials have withheld or skewed important scientific

information that conflicts with the Bush Administration’s ideological and

political agenda. Examples include:

 

• Including Misleading Information in Presidential Communications. After banning

research on new lines of embryonic stem cells, President Bush assured the

American people that research on " more than 60 " existing lines cells " could lead

to breakthrough therapies and cures. " In fact, only 11 cell lines are now

available for research, all of which were grown with mouse cells, rendering them

inappropriate for treating people.

 

• Presenting Incomplete and Inaccurate Information to Congress. When Interior

Secretary Gale Norton assured Congress that drilling in the Alaska National

Wildlife Refuge would not harm the region’s caribou population, she altered or

omitted multiple key scientific conclusions prepared by federal biologists at

the refuge. One Fish and Wildlife Service official commented, " We tried to

present all the facts, but she only passed along the ones she liked. And to pass

along facts that are false, well, that’s obviously inappropriate. "

 

• Altering Web Sites. As social conservatives campaigned to require women to be

" counseled " about an alleged risk of breast cancer from abortions, the National

Cancer Institute revised its web site to suggest that studies of equal weight

conflicted on the question. In fact, there is scientific consensus that no such

link exists; as the head of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society

had concluded previously, " This issue has been resolved scientifically . . . .

This is essentially a political debate. "

 

• Suppressing Agency Reports. After the White House edited a discussion of

global warming in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Draft Report on the

Environment, agency scientists objected that the draft " no longer accurately

represents scientific consensus on climate change, " and EPA chose to eliminate

the discussion entirely. A former EPA Administrator in the Nixon and Ford

Administrations commented, " I can state categorically that there was never such

White House intrusion into the business of the E.PA. during my tenure. "

 

Interfering with Scientific Research

 

The federal government invests $100 billion annually in scientific research to

discover new cures, protect the environment, defend the country, and support

other effective policies for the health and welfare of the American people. But

instead of encouraging the development and dissemination of objective scientific

information, the Bush Administration has repeatedly interfered with scientific

research and analysis where political and ideological interests are at stake.

Examples include:

 

• Scrutinizing Ongoing Research. Officials of the National Institutes of Health

warned HIV researchers to expect increased scrutiny of any research grant

requests using the words " gay " or " men who sleep with men. " The Administration

has also instituted a new policy at the Agriculture Department requiring

scientists to seek approval of any research on " agricultural practices with

negative health and environmental consequences. "

 

• Obstructing Agency Analyses. The Bush Administration refused to let the

Environmental Protection Agency conduct analyses on air quality proposals that

differ from the President’s " Clear Skies " initiative. William Ruckelshaus, the

first EPA administrator under President Nixon, said of this pattern, " Is the

analysis flawed? That is a legitimate reason for not releasing it. But if you

don’t like the outcome that might result from the analysis, that is not a

legitimate reason. "

 

• Undermining Outcome Assessment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

used to evaluate sex education programs and identify those

 

with scientific evidence of effectiveness. After social conservatives complained

that none of the programs taught " abstinence only, " the agency ended the

" Programs That Work " initiative altogether.

 

• Blocking Scientific Publication. The Agriculture Department prohibited one of

its microbiologists from publishing or presenting research indicating that

industrial hog farming may contribute to antibiotic resistance. The scientist

traced the Department’s actions back to communications from industry.

 

This report describes these and other examples of interference in the scientific

process. While in a few cases the Bush Administration reversed itself or

admitted error, most of these actions, policies, and appointments remain in

effect.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY.........................................................................\

.........................................i

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION1

 

FINDINGS............2

 

ABSTINENCE-ONLY

EDUCATION.......................................................................\

...................................4

 

Performance

Measures........................................................................\

...........................................4

 

" Programs That

Work " ...........................................................................\

.......................................6

 

Appointment to CDC

Committee.......................................................................\

.............................6

 

AGRICULTURAL

POLLUTION.......................................................................\

.........................................7

 

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE

REFUGE..........................................................................\

......................8

 

BREAST CANCE

 

 

 

 

 

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