---
title: "Scientific Integrity in Policymaking"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Integrity_in_Policymaking"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:26:10.645612+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

"Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science" is the title of a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists in February, 2004. The report was the culmination of an investigation of the Bush administration's objectivity in science, and ultimately a criticism thereof.


== "Suppression and distortion of research findings" ==

A central thesis of the report, according to the Executive Summary (on page 2 of the text), was that the Bush administration had behaved in ways considered to be consistent with the following three situations.

Epidemic altering and concealing of scientific information by senior officials in various federal agencies
Active censorship of scientific information that the administration considered threatening to its own philosophies
Restriction of the ability of government-supported scientists to freely communicate scientific ideas related to "sensitive" issues


== "An unprecedented pattern of behavior" ==
In "Part III", the text of the report posits that the aforementioned activities are unprecedented in the history of the United States. The report lists the following persons and organization who had supposedly acted or made statements to support this claim.
This list is sorted first by category, then by the order in which the persons or organizations are mentioned in the report.

Organization
REP America
Persons
Ruckelshaus, William
Train, Russell
Panofsky, Dr. Wolfgang H. K.
Goldberger, Dr. Marvin
Scarlett, Dr. Margaret
Kennedy, Donald
Bromley, Dr. D. Allan
Branscomb, Professor Lewis M.
Goldman, Dr. Lynn


== Recommendations by the Union ==
Page 29 of the report states: "This behavior by the administration violates the central premise of the scientific method, and is therefore of particularly grave concern to the scientific community." It then goes on, in a short section titled "Conclusions and Recommendations: What's at Stake" at the end of the report, to provide recommendations for "restoring scientific integrity to federal policymaking" (page 30). These recommendations (on pages 30–31) include a suggestion for the President of the United States to issue executive orders, and other actions, that would prevent further "abuse"; for the United States Congress to hold appropriate hearings, consider the consequences of statutory law under its influence, increase the amount of publicly available scientific information, and establish an organization to guide Congress in its deliberations in technical matters; for scientists to raise awareness of the aforementioned issues and provide public policy recommendations; for the public to exercise its political influence in a constructive manner.


== Response ==
On April 2, 2004, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a statement by Dr. John Marburger, the director of OSTP, that claims the descriptions of the incidents in the UCS report are all "false," "wrong," or "a distortion." He said he was disappointed with the report and dismissed it as "biased."[1].


== The report's table of contents ==
The following is a duplication of the report's table of contents.

Executive summary
Part I: Suppression and distortion of research findings at federal agencies
Distorting and suppressing climate change research
Censoring information on air quality
Mercury emissions from power plants
Addressing multiple air pollutants
Distorting scientific knowledge on reproductive health issues
Abstinence-only education
HIV/AIDS
Breast cancer
Suppressing analysis on airborne bacteria
Misrepresenting evidence on Iraq's aluminum tubes
Manipulation of science regarding the endangered species act
Missouri River
Manipulating the scientific process on forest management
OMB rulemaking on "peer review"
Part II: Undermining the quality and integrity of the appointment process
Industry influence on lead poisoning prevention panel
Political litmus tests on workplace safety panel
Non-scientist in senior advisory role to the President
Underqualified candidates in health advisory roles
The FDA's Reproductive Health Advisory Committee
Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
Litmus tests for scientific appointees
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Army Science Board
Dismissal of nuclear weapons and arms control panels
National Nuclear Security Administration panel
Arms control panel
Part III: An unprecedented pattern of behavior
Disseminating research from federal agencies
Irregularities in appointments to scientific advisory panels
Conclusions and recommendations: What's at stake
Restoring scientific integrity to federal policy making
Appendices
EPA memo on climate section of the Report on the Environment
USDA "sensitive issue" list


== Associated Statement "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking" ==
At the time of issue of this report, the UCS released a statement supporting the criticisms detailed in the above report. This statement was originally signed by the 62 prominent scientists listed below. Since that time it has gathered support from more than 12,000 scientists.
Signatories of the original statement include:

Philip W. Anderson
David Baltimore
Paul Berg
Rosina Bierbaum
Nicolaas Bloembergen
Lewis M. Branscomb
Eric Chivian
Joel E. Cohen
James Cronin
Margaret Davis
Paul M. Doty
Paul Ehrlich
Thomas Eisner
Christopher Field
Gerald D. Fischbach
Val L. Fitch
Jerry Franklin
Jerome Friedman
Richard L. Garwin
John H. Gibbons
Marvin L. Goldberger
Lynn R. Goldman
Kurt Gottfried
David Grimes
Roger Guillemin
John P. Holdren
Eric R. Kandel
Anne Kapuscinski
Walter Kohn
Lawrence Krauss
Neal F. Lane
Leon M. Lederman
William Lipscomb
Jane Lubchenco
Michael MacCracken
James J. McCarthy
Jerry M. Melillo
Matthew S. Meselson
David Michaels
Mario Molina
Michael Oppenheimer
Gordon Orians
W.K.H. Panofsky
Stuart Pimm
Ron Pulliam
Norman F. Ramsey
Anthony Robbins
Allan Rosenfield
F. Sherwood Rowland
Edwin E. Salpeter
William Schlesinger
J. Robert Schrieffer
Richard Smalley
Felicia Stewart
Kevin Trenberth
Harold E. Varmus
Steven Weinberg
E.O. Wilson
Edward Witten
George Woodwell
Donald Wuebbles
Herbert F. York


== External links ==
Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: The Bush Administration’s Misuse of Science, February 2004
Scientific Integrity in Policy Making: Further Investigation of the Bush Administration’s Misuse of Science, July 2004
2004 Scientist Statement on Restoring Scientific Integrity to Federal Policy Making


== References ==