Schatz, Blumenthal Renew Call To Pass Scientific Integrity Bill Following Dangerous Trump Suggestion To Inject Disinfectant As COVID-19 Treatment, Firing Of Top Vaccine Official

HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today called on Senate leaders to include the Scientific Integrity Act in next coronavirus relief package. The Schatz-authored Scientific Integrity Act would protect public scientific research and reports from the influence of political and special interests.

“Federal doctors and scientists have unparalleled expertise about public health and safety, as well as the care of the sick—and they must be empowered to follow the evidence where it leads and publicly communicate what they find,” Senators Schatz and Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “The American people desperately need access to reliable information and scientific advice about how to protect themselves and their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we request your immediate action to protect the federal experts who provide it.”

The Scientific Integrity Act would: 

• Formalize and reinforce policies that require federal agencies that conduct or fund scientific research to maintain clear scientific integrity principles;
• Affirm that science dictates policy, and that scientific research should be free from the pressure of politics, ideology, or financial influence; and
• Hold public scientists to high standards and guarantee their rights and protections under the law.

This week, Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and removed as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response. In a statement, Dr. Bright said his removal was politically motivated and came after he called for thorough vetting of hydroxychloroquine, a drug promoted by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment.

The full text of the letter is below and available here.

Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:

Science is moving at an unprecedented pace to better understand COVID-19 and develop methods for containing it. Federal doctors and scientists have unparalleled expertise about public health and safety, as well as the care of the sick—and they must be empowered to follow the evidence where it leads and publicly communicate what they find. Simply put, successful pandemic response is dependent upon the ability of government experts to tell us what they know, when they know it. Accordingly, we request that S.775, the Scientific Integrity Act, should be incorporated into the next COVID package.

We should expect any administration to put its best experts at the front lines of the pandemic response, and we should all be able to agree that: 

• science should be the basis of all public health decisions;
• science informing public policy decisions is based on objectively verifiable facts; and
• science communicated to the public should be free from politics or ideology.

Unfortunately, scientific information is being filtered through political appointees who are not scientists, and those who want to investigate scientific claims made by the White House face retribution and retaliation.

There are plenty of recent examples: 

• CDC experts have not been allowed to disseminate important information to the public.
• Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed from his position as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, allegedly because he pushed for additional scientific testing for hydroxychloroquine.
• Senior CDC scientist Nancy Messonnier was removed from coronavirus response several weeks ago after warning that Americans should begin preparing for “significant disruptions” to their lives.
• The CDC has not held a press conference since March 9. 

We based the Scientific Integrity Act on the principles that this Administration has abandoned, and we request the inclusion of this bill in the next COVID package. In the alternative, we urge you to include strong scientific integrity provisions that protect the science that underpins our nation’s response to the COVID crisis. At a minimum, the package should require that government scientists are able to:

1. Publicly share data and analysis with the public;
2. Ensure that statements made by government officials are accurate;
3. Conduct research without political interference in their methodology; and
4. Be protected from retribution for following the evidence where it leads.

Recent surveys of federal scientists demonstrate that many experience undue political pressure to make their research more politically convenient. In fact, a paper published on April 23, 2020, showed that hundreds of federal experts self-censor because of fear of retribution from superiors who will not like their results. This is not acceptable under normal circumstances, but under a pandemic, it is catastrophic.

The American people desperately need access to reliable information and scientific advice about how to protect themselves and their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we request your immediate action to protect the federal experts who provide it.

Sincerely, 

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