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Policymakers aren’t alone in wanting access to solid scientific findings. A majority of Americans say they trust findings more if the data are publicly available, and they also think scientists should be more transparent about potential conflicts of interest with industry, according to an August 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center. But if government scientists don’t have support and independence and their conclusions threaten an industry with a powerful lobby or the reputation of a politician, those conflicts of interest come to the fore. Research can be contentious if it involves, say, Flint-style water pollution, a Katrina-level natural disaster, or gun violence, to name just a few examples. Any time a scientist wants to share that research at a conference or on social media, their freedom to do so may depend on scientific integrity policies.
(An emphasis on transparency can be abused, however, as scientists have pointed out in response to a proposal from the EPA that would limit the type of research the agency uses to determine public health policy.)
If the Scientific Integrity Act is enacted into law, it could encourage a culture of openness, giving scientists the freedom to do and share their work without fear of retaliation, Halpern argues. It would also standardize policies across agencies, Tonko says, and give them the attention they require.
But there’s no guarantee the act will become law. All but two of the 230 sponsors of the House bill and all 14 sponsors of the bill in the Senate are Democrats.
“Without Republican support, it would be tough to see how it gets brought up in the Senate, because it becomes really difficult for any one individual from the other party to sign onto the bill if it looks like it’s partisan,” said Michael Fisher, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit science policy organization.
The bill’s chances might be bolstered by an October 2019 report from a nonpartisan group at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. The task force is co-chaired by Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and EPA administrator in the George W. Bush administration, and includes another Republican, Mike Castle, a former governor and congressman from Delaware. The report calls for sweeping reforms and makes recommendations that go beyond the Scientific Integrity Act, which mostly covers research, and draws more attention to political appointments, advisory committees, and government data.
Partisanship aside, many agencies will likely welcome this bill, said Wendy Wagner, a University of Texas law professor. “The incentives of an agency as a collective are to get the right answer because they’re going to be blown around by the political winds every four years.”
Still, considering how readily some agencies, but not others, have already adopted scientific integrity policies and how often scientific disputes flare up, agencies may respond differently to a federal scientific integrity law. The bill leaves discretion to the agencies, which would prove helpful in some cases, since the standards and timing to build scientific consensus vary from field to field. But that discretion leaves room for some political interference if the way the policy’s implemented depends on an agency’s leadership. After all, though weather scientists were able to speak up about Hurricane Dorian and Alabama thanks to the agency’s scientific integrity policy, it didn’t prevent retaliation.
The bill lacks teeth on enforcement, argues Dana Gold, senior counsel of the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit that advocates for whistleblowers. It also lacks a dedicated provision “that would give employees the right to report alleged violations free from reprisal.” The Scientific Integrity Act is a step in the right direction, she added, but whistleblower protections should be stronger.
If the bill stalls in Congress or on President Trump’s desk, the campaign to improve the integrity of government science will continue into the next administration. In that case, Tonko aims to again push the bill. He said he’s optimistic about passing it this time though.
Halpern said he feels the same way. “It’s one of the silver linings of the repeated attacks on science that we’ve seen over the past couple years — that not only are scientists really engaged in standing up for science, but also people across all kinds of different issues, whether it’s public health advocates, or environmentalists, or national security experts,” he said. “People’s eyes have been opened.”
Ramin Skibba (@raminskibba) is an astrophysicist turned science writer and freelance journalist who is based in San Diego. He has written for The Atlantic, Slate, Scientific American, Nature, and Science, among other publications.
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