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Members of Congress are taking new and creative steps to defend government science. This page summarizes some of those efforts:
House and Senate examine science and politics at EPA
Hundreds of sceintists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reported political intereference in their work, significant barriers to the free communication of scientific results, and concerns about the agency's effectiveness according to testimony by UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo's testimony for both Senate (pdf) and House (pdf) hearings. The hearings examined science and politics in recent EPA regulatory decisions. Click here to learn more about the Senate hearing and click here to learn more about the House hearing.
Oversight of EPA Library Closures
UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo testified at a Congressional hearing on the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency's 2006 decision to close or reduce access to parts of its library network. The hearing reviewed a new Government Accountability Office report criticizing the way EPA handled the closures. Dr. Grifo discussed an independent UCS investigation showing that hundreds of EPA scientists believe the library closures impaired their work to protect our nation's health, safety, and environment. Click here to learn more and read Dr. Grifo's tesimony.
Consumer Product Safety
Today the U.S. Senate passed the sweeping Consumer Product Safety Reform Act, S. 2663, a bi-partisan bill that reauthorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) charged with overseeing the safety of more than 15,000 consumer products. The bill provides protections for CPSC staff and private-sector employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing. CPSC staff are on the front lines in our efforts to protect the public from unsafe products. By including whistleblower protections in this bill, the Senate recognized that when employees sound the alert about product safety violations, they should be heard and should not have to fear retaliation.
House bill promotes independence for agency investigators
In October 2007 the House passed H.R. 928, the Improving Government Accountability Act, by a veto-proof margin of 404-11. The bill promotes independence and accountability for Inspectors General (IG) at federal agencies. One particularly important provision mandates mechanisms on IG's websites for employees to anonymously report waste, fraud or abuse. This provision may provide a way for government scientists to challenge scientific misconduct through safe and confidential disclosure channels.
New Law Will Improve Scientific Integrity at FDA
The President signed into law legislation that will open to scrutiny the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews drugs and monitors drug safety. The law also protects scientists' ability to publish and communicate their research findings and limits the use of advisory panel members with financial ties to the products they are reviewing. Independent science is critical to protecting the public from unsafe drugs. UCS investigations have found that FDA scientists charged with evaluating drugs, are often ignored, and their findings are suppressed or distorted. Suppression and distortion of scientific research led the FDA to approve drugs such as Vioxx, Avandia, and Ketek that later proved to be harmful. More transparency in the decision-making process is needed at the FDA—and at all federal agencies—to ensure that the work of federal government scientists is not misused. Click here to read the UCS press release.
Agency Media Policies Become Law
In August the president signed the America COMPETES Act, HR 2272, a bill to foster innovation in math and science. Included in the bill is a provision for all science agencies to create principles and policies that ensure the communication and open exchange of data and results to other agencies, policymakers, and the public. The provision also states that the policies should "prevent the intentional or unintentional suppression or distortion of such research findings."
UCS Testifies on Endangered Species Interference
UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo testified on May 9 in front of the House Committee on Natural Resources about political interference in the science behind the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Hearing witnesses discussed interference in the addition and removal of species from the endangered and threatened lists, the designation of critical habitat, and the development of recovery plans. Click here to learn more about the hearing and to read Dr. Grifo's testimony.
House Legislation Will Protect Scientists
The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Enchancement Act of 2007, H.R. 985, with a 331 to 94 vote. The bill includes provisions to protect government scientists who report cases of interference or manipulation with federal science or research. Click here to see how members voted.
UCS Questions President's Executive Order
The president recently issued an executive order that centralizes decision-making power in the White House and may endanger the independence of federal science. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing to investigate the possible impacts of this executive order. UCS submitted comments (pdf) to the subcommittee on the issue.
Senate Hearing on Integrity of Climate Research
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing to investigate the scientific integrity of federal climate research. View the archived video and read the testimony here.
Congress Investigates Interference in Climate Science
UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on January 30, 2007. Her testimony focused on the results of Atmosphere of Pressure, an investigation by UCS and the Government Accountability Project that details broad interference in government scientists ability to communicate with the public, Congress, and the media. Read Francesca's testimony and the testimony of the other witnesses here. Also, click here to read statements from members of Congress on scientific integrity. | 
