May 10, 2021
In this Sept. 4, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. A new 46-person federal scientific integrity task force with members from dozens of government agencies will meet for the first time Friday. During Sharpiegate, NOAA reprimanded some meteorologists for tweeting that Alabama was not threatened by the hurricane, contradicting the president, who said Alabama was in danger. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) Eager to the turn the page on the Trump years, the Biden White House is launching an effort to unearth past problems with the politicization of science within government and to tighten scientific integrity rules for the future.
“We want people to be able to trust what the federal government is telling you, whether it’s a weather forecast or information about vaccine safety or whatever,” said Jane Lubchenco, the deputy director for climate and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
People need to know it’s not by fiat, somebody’s sort of knee-jerk opinion about something,” added Alondra Nelson, the science office’s deputy director for science and society. Nelson and Lubchenco spoke to The Associated Press ahead of a Monday announcement about the task force’s first meeting and part of its composition. It stems from a Jan. 27 presidential memo requiring “evidence-based policy-making.”
Biden administration formally launches task force to ensure scientific decisions are free from political influence
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The Biden administration announced Monday the formal launch of its Scientific Integrity Task Force which will review the federal government’s scientific policies to ensure they are free from inappropriate political influence.
The 46 members come from across the federal government and will meet for the first time on Friday.
The review comes after several former Trump administration officials have said they felt political pressures while doing their jobs during the pandemic.
The effort is being led by the White House Office of Science and Technology and stands as an early example of the Biden administration’s commitment to science and government accountability. In a statement Monday, OSTP said mobilizing the task force “would the lift up the voices of Federal scientists of many perspectives and backgrounds, in order to ensure that scientific integri
“We want people to be able to trust what the federal government is telling you, whether it’s a weather forecast or information about vaccine safety or whatever,” said Jane Lubchenco, the deputy director for climate and environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
People need to know it’s not by fiat, somebody’s sort of knee-jerk opinion about something,” added Alondra Nelson, the science office’s deputy director for science and society. Nelson and Lubchenco spoke to The Associated Press ahead of a Monday announcement about the task force’s first meeting and part of its composition. It stems from a Jan. 27 presidential memo requiring “evidence-based policy-making.”
New White House panel aims to separate science, politics
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Independent
WASHINGTON – Eager to the turn the page on the Trump years, the Biden White House is launching an effort to unearth past problems with the politicization of science within government and to tighten scientific integrity rules for the future.
A new 46-person federal scientific integrity task force with members from more than two dozen government agencies will meet for the first time on Friday. Its mission is to look back through 2009 for areas where partisanship interfered with what were supposed to be decisions based on evidence and research and to come up with ways to keep politics out of government science in the future.