The Democratic staff of the House Committee on Government Reform recently released a report examining the Bush administration’s handling of scientific matters -- finding in many cases, that scientific integrity has been sacrificed to further a political or ideological agenda. The report, which came at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), finds “numerous instances where the administration has manipulated the scientific process and distorted or suppressed scientific findings.” For example:

In March 2003 the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, Sierra Club and Heartwood filed a data quality challenge with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The groups sought a correction of information related to January 8, 2003 Federal Register notice for the "National Environmental Policy Act Documentation Needed for Limited Timber Harvest." The Forest Service used information from monitoring timber sales in order to develop new criteria on limited tree removal Categorical Exclusions (CEs), under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Background Information

On May 14, 2003 the U.S Chamber of Commerce (USCC) and the Salt Institute filed a data quality petition with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The petition challenges the objectivity, transparency and reproducibility of NHLBI information that claims or suggests that reduced sodium consumption will result in lower blood pressure in all individuals.

Since October 2002, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has been inundated with 99 requests under the Data Quality Act (DQA), while only a handful of requests have been submitted to other agencies. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) within DOT has received all but six of the requests. The DQA requires that federal agencies develop guidelines to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of information disseminated by the agency.