Fostering Scientific Integrity

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Scientists Speak Out Against the Bush Administration

Last week the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released updated evidence that the Bush administration continues to manipulate and control science for political reasons. UCS has now collected the signatures of more than 4,000 scientists supporting a statement urging the Bush administration to discontinue these troubling practices, and to restore scientific integrity in federal policymaking. The prestigious list of scientists taking this unprecedented stand includes 48 Nobel laureates, 62 national medal of science recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences.

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OMB Watch Uncovers Flaws in OMB's Data Quality Report

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently published a report to Congress that analyzes and summarizes federal agencies' first year of operations experience using the new information quality guidelines mandated under the Information Quality Act (IQA). The guidelines are supposed to ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by federal agencies. The report provides OMB's perspective on the first year under the law and the IQA reports submitted to OMB from individual agencies.

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Court Rejects Claim in First Decision on Data Quality Act

In the first ever court decision to address the Data Quality Act, a federal district court in Minnesota has held that the Act does not permit petitioners to seek judicial review.

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National Multi Council Housing Challenge

Ten organizations submitted a request for correction to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) March 10 under the agency's data quality guidelines. The petition challenges a statement contained in a Federal Register notice on ratio utility billing systems (RUBS) and other allocation billing systems for water use. Background

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Water Fluoridation Challenge

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received a request from a private citizen November 19, 2002 challenging a published statement that indicates fluoridation of public water supplies is safe. Request for Correction The challenged statement is from CDCâ¦¡mp;#8364;?s frequently asked questions page for community fluoridation, which reads -- "Extensive research conducted over the past 50 years has shown that fluoridation of public water supplies is a safe and effective way to reduce tooth decay for all community residents."

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Politics, Not Science, Alters Air Quality Models

Government air quality modeling experts from around the country are opposing a new Bush administration policy, which they contend threatens air quality and public health. They are among a growing number of scientists and other critics, who charge the Bush administration with manipulating science to support predetermined political outcomes. Most significantly, this may be the first time such criticism has been leveled from scientists inside a federal agency.

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Comments on OMB's Revised Peer Review Bulletin

OMB Watch submitted detailed comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on its Revised Peer Review Bulletin, published in the Federal Register April 28, 2004. The revised bulletin continues to propose a uniform standard of peer review for all federal agencies with strict requirements for agencies conducting peer review. OMB has made significant revisions to the bulletin after its initial draft bulletin received strong opposition from scientists, environmentalists, and public interest groups.

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OMB Fast-Tracks Revised Peer Review Policy

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) appears unwilling to allow a sober and unhurried review of their revised proposal for government-wide peer review requirements. The revised proposal was published in the Federal Register April 28 with only a 30-day public comment period that is scheduled to end May 28. OMB rejected a request from various public interest groups for a 60-day extension to the public review period.

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OMB's Peer Review Proposal Improved But Still Flawed

After receiving strong opposition for its peer review proposal from scientists, environmentalists, and public interest groups, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a massively revised version of the guidance and is seeking public comment on the new version. While many of the changes are significant improvements over OMB's initial policy, the new proposal fails to address some of the most fundamental complaints.

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White House Denies Meddling with Science

John H. Marburger III, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a detailed rebuttal to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) that accuses the administration of manipulating scientific information for political purposes.

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