White House Releases Scientific Integrity Directive

And just last week, we achieved another important milestone when the White House released its long-awaited scientific integrity directive to prevent political interference in science.

This directive lays out a set of instructions to federal agencies and departments so that policy decisions can be fully informed by the best available science, scientists can communicate effectively with their peers and the media, and the public can better understand how and why a particular policy decision is made. Federal agencies have 120 days to develop specific plans to carry out the instructions.

This marks the culmination of nearly seven years of hard work by UCS, our supporters, and scientists who have been calling for the restoration of scientific integrity to federal policy making. Together, we met with scores of legislators, submitted thousands of public comments on issues from prescription drug safety to endangered species, and documented some of the worst abuses of science to demonstrate the extent of the problem.

Today, we celebrate this important step forward. In the New Year, we’ll again roll up our sleeves and make sure that implementation is swift and meaningful.

Thank you for all you've done to help make these important victories possible. You are the foundation of our organization and it's because of your support that UCS has been are able to make this great progress.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.ucsusa.org