Response to NAS request for comment on S&T appointments (draft – KG 6 21 04 )

Statement of Alden Meyer, UCS Director of Strategy and Policy Before the NAS Committee on Ensuring the Best Science and Technology Presidential and Federal Advisory Committee Appointments July 21, 2004 Context: Abuses of Scientific Integrity in Policymaking Scientific knowledge is brought to bear on federal policy making in several ways: • Through technical studies, data collection and analysis by government scientists; • Through advice to departments and agencies by scientific advisory committees; and • Through direct advice to the President by the White House Science Adviser and by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. An unwritten social contract is implied by the very existence of this elaborate machinery in a democratic government. It can be stated as follows: political decisions are made by the peoples’ elected representatives, and entail many factors other than science; but in making such decisions, political leaders are obliged to consider the best advice that science can offer. Furthermore, the government is obliged to disseminate the uncensored results of its scientific studies unless there is a reasonable national security concern. On the whole, administrations of both parties have, until now, honored this contract. But as you are no doubt aware, concern about suppression or distortion of federal agency scientific analyses, and the politicization of appointments to federal scientific advisory ...