A letter alleges that the order cedes too much "power over the interpretation, use, and communication of federal scientific research". Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
A group of two dozen House Democrats has called on the Trump administration to rescind its recent executive order on “Restoring Gold Standard Science,” saying the order “does not restore high scientific standards; it cloaks political interference in the language of pro-science reform.”
The order calls for tighter control over research conducted by or funded by federal agencies by requiring that agencies “practice data transparency, acknowledge relevant scientific uncertainties, are transparent about the assumptions and likelihood of scenarios used, approach scientific findings objectively, and communicate scientific data accurately,”
The letter from the House members pointed in particular to a provision “granting political appointees sweeping power over the interpretation, use, and communication of federal scientific research. By authorizing senior political staff to investigate alleged violations, impose disciplinary action, and unilaterally “correct” scientific outputs, the order invites ideological enforcement and suppresses dissent. That is not scientific integrity — it is its undoing.”
By undoing Biden administration scientific integrity policies and returning to policies of the first Trump term, the order “strips scientists of strong institutional protections and leaves agencies without real accountability,” adding that the current administration’s “policies, proposed funding and personnel cuts, and dismissal of widely accepted peer-reviewed science that have created a chilling effect.”
“This Executive Order is not a return to “gold standard” science. It is a hollow public relations stunt from an administration that has repeatedly weakened America’s scientific credibility and further eroded trust in evidence-based policymaking,” they wrote.
The letter was led by Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., the primary sponsor of a bill (HR-1106) to set new standards for separating federally-funded research from political or corporate influence.
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