Open AccessPolitics and the Erosion of Federal Scientific Capacity: Restoring Scientific Integrity to Public Health Science
Author(s) -
Kathleen Rest,
Michael Halpern
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2007.118455
Subject(s) - prosperity , politics , public health , government (linguistics) , political science , scientific integrity , public administration , taxpayer , ballot , scientific evidence , democracy , public relations , law , medicine , engineering ethics , linguistics , philosophy , nursing , epistemology , voting , engineering
Our nation's health and prosperity are based on a foundation of independent scientific discovery. Yet in recent years, political interference in federal government science has become widespread, threatening this legacy. We explore the ways science has been misused, the attempts to measure the pervasiveness of this problem, and the effects on our long-term capacity to meet today's most complex public health challenges. Good government and a functioning democracy require public policy decisions to be informed by independent science. The scientific and public health communities must speak out to defend taxpayer-funded science from political interference. Encouragingly, both the scientific community and Congress are exploring ways to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking.