PEER: Biden revamp of scientific integrity policies 'falls short'
Draft policies fail to prevent political interference without provisions for independent investigation.
The first revamped agency scientific integrity policy crafted under a Biden initiative leaves a lot to be desired, according to comments submitted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and a coalition of ten public health, transparency, and environmental groups. If finalized, this policy would cover all scientists and technical analysts working within the behemoth $1.7 trillion Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and may serve as the template for new policies that are supposed to be adopted in all other federal agencies doing scientific work.
The HHS draft policy is a culmination of a process for “Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity” that President Biden launched just a week after his inauguration. The object was to address how existing scientific integrity policies adopted under President Obama should be strengthened to “prevent improper political interference in…[and] suppression or distortion of scientific or technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or technical results” of the sort that had occurred during the Trump presidency.