In response to a presidential memorandum, the Task Force on Scientific Integrity released its report on how federal agencies can improve their policies for protecting scientific integrity.
Reproductive & Sexual Health
With New Rule, Process of Rebuilding Title X Family Planning Network Begins
On October 4, HHS announced a final rule to undo a horrible Trump administration action that resulted in the Title X family planning program’s capacity being cut in half.
In a “Request for Information to Improve Federal Scientific Integrity Policies,” the White House Office of Scientific and Technology Policy invites input until 5pm on July 28.
CDC guidance for vaccinated individuals, an OSHA emergency standard, and an FDA drug approval decision are bad news for public health and show that the Biden administration isn’t always living up to its stated commitments to equity and evidence-based policy.
On January 21, President Biden signed an executive order directing OSHA to consider issuing an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19, with a March 15 deadline. More than a month later, workers are still waiting.
A week after taking the oath of office, President Biden signed a sweeping presidential memorandum that takes several welcome steps to ensure government scientists can do their jobs without political interference. A week after that, Representative Paul Tonko reintroduced the Scientific Integrity Act, which would enshrine into law many of the safeguards that Biden’s memorandum specifies.
With a statement in his inaugural address and new executive orders, President Biden shows that he values science in government.
To say that most US scientists were relieved that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election would understate the depth of their feelings.
Recommendations to several federal agencies for undoing damage to scientific integrity are in the new resource “Restoring Science, Protecting the Public: Recommendations for Federal Agencies in the Next Presidential Term.”
COVID-19
With MMWR meddling, Trump administration interference with science crosses another awful line
The Trump administration’s attacks on the science and scientists we need to control COVID-19’s toll have been so frequent that it’s easy to become numb to them. But news of Trump administration interference with CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports is still a horrible shock.