A new report from a wide-ranging group of organizations that promote science-based policy making describes threats to the use of science in government decisions regarding public health and recommends steps Congress can take in response.
The organizations that contributed to the report include science, public health, environmental, government oversight, and whistleblower protection groups. The Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, which is part of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Health, was among them. The report describes problematic actions that cut across issue areas, including:
- Agency leaders ignoring or mischaracterizing scientific evidence on climate change, worker compensation, and reproductive health;
- Neglect of advisory committees that could offer expert advice on cleaner air and safer workplaces;
- Appointment of individuals who lack appropriate expertise or have conflicts of interest to lead agencies responsible for protecting public health and national resources; and
- Suppression of the free flow of information between government scientists and the public.
The report recommends multiple steps Congress can take to strengthen the use of science at federal agencies. These include holding oversight and legislative hearings and requesting investigations when agencies have suppressed, ignored, or failed to appropriately use scientific evidence. In addition, Congress should hold appointees accountable – and, in the case of the Senate, vote against confirmation of nominees who are unqualified or conflicted for science- based positions. Congress can also expand laws protecting whistleblowers who report abuses and work to ensure agencies have strong, enforceable scientific integrity policies.
“We need a strong Congressional defense of science because under the current administration, leaders of many federal agencies are suppressing, ignoring, and distorting evidence that we should be using to improve public health,” says Liz Borkowski, managing director of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health. In a recent blog in The Pump Handle, she provides examples of anti-science agency actions that impact public health, including the abrupt termination of Teen Pregnancy Prevention grants.
The report, Protecting Science at Federal Agencies: How Congress Can Help, can be accessed here. Contributors to the report include Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, Democracy Forward, Environmental Integrity Project, Environmental Protection Network, Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, Government Accountability Project, Greenpeace, National Federation of Federal Employees, National Partnership for Women & Families, Power to Decide, Project on Government Oversight, and Union of Concerned Scientists.