On May 23rd, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) misleadingly titled Restoring Gold Standard Science. Among other things, the EO directs agency leadership to revert their scientific integrity (SI) policies to what they were when President Trump left the White House after his first term, which effectively weakens or removes many federal agency SI policies.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has until the end of June to develop new guidance for federal agencies. Federal agencies will use this guidance to create new policies that align with the Trump administration’s dubious definitions of scientific integrity and “gold standard science.”
The goals of scientific integrity policies are to (1) protect the scientific process from inappropriate (like political or corporate) influence, (2) make federal research and evidence accessible without compromising people’s personal data, (3) allow federal scientists to communicate their research without interference, and (4) to use the best available science in decision and policy making.
In short, SI policies help create a barrier between polluters, conspiracy theorists, and ideologues on the one hand, and federal scientific research on the other, preventing the former parties from interfering with federal scientists and their work. This means the policies allow scientific evidence to speak for itself, and in turn inform rules and safeguards that keep you, me, and our communities safe–safe from hazardous materials in our air, safe from chemicals in our water, safe from tainted food or dangerous consumer products, safe from disease, and safe from damage from extreme weather events.
Because of this, it is critical that scientific integrity policies are developed, instated, and followed according to SI best practices and evidence, and are professionalized within the culture of each federal agency.
But don’t just take our word for it: after the National Institute of Health rescinded its SI policy, over 14,200 people demanded its Director, Dr. Jay Battacharya, reinstate it immediately. You can read more about the letter that we (and over 14,200 other people) sent to Dr. Battacharya here.
Last week, the Union of Concerned Scientists sent a letter to the Director of OSTP, Michael Kratsios, outlining our concerns about this EO and recommending what should be included in the new guidance President Trump requested in the recent EO. We also sent this letter to all the federal agency Directors, Administrators, and Secretaries, and every single member of Congress.
Our recommendations are based on the best available science and evidence of effective scientific integrity policies. We hope Director Kratsios’ upcoming guidance on federal agency SI policies is based on the same—and we’ll be ready to call the administration out if the guidance falls short.