Dr. Jonathan Fishbein, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) researcher and director of the AIDS research division's Office of Policy in Clinical Research Operations, blew the whistle on poor scientific practices and inappropriate, unprofessional conduct by the department. NIH fired Fishbein on July 1 citing poor job performance, in what some believe to be retaliation. A review report for the NIH director's office confirms many of the issues that Fishbein raised about the agency's AIDS research division, adding to the speculation that his dismissal constituted a retaliatory action.

A House subcommittee hearing on the White House's anti-regulatory hit list became a venue for stakeholders to voice their positions on the broader ongoing debate over public protections and political interference in regulatory policy, pitting corporate-conservative talking points against evidence of the need for stringent safeguards.

The deadline by which the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform needed to report their recommendations to Treasury Secretary John Snow was pushed back two months by order of President Bush last week. On June 16, Bush signed an amendment to the executive order establishing the parameters of the panel allowing the report to be sent to Treasury by September 30, a full two months after the original July 31 deadline. It is unknown whether this change was due to political calculations by the president and his advisors or if the panel was behind schedule and simply needed more time.