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Politics

Research rules worry scientists

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 14, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is clamping down on scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, the latest agency subjected to controls on research that might go against official policy.

New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study everything from caribou mating to global warming. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.

The new requirements state that the USGS's communications office must be "alerted about information products containing high-visibility topics or topics of a policy-sensitive nature."

Top officials at the Interior Department's scientific arm say the rules only standardize what scientists must do to ensure the quality of their work and give a heads-up to the agency's public relations staff.

"This is not about stifling or suppressing our science, or politicizing our science in any way," Barbara Wainman, the agency's director of communications, said Wednesday.

Some agency scientists, who until now have felt free from any political interference, worry that the objectivity of their work could be compromised.

"I feel as though we've got someone looking over our shoulder. ... And to me that's a very scary thing. I worry that it borders on censorship," said Jim Estes, an internationally recognized marine biologist.

The Bush administration has been criticized over scientific integrity issues, as was the Clinton administration before it.

At the Environmental Protection Agency, scientists and advocacy groups alike are worried about closing libraries.

Congressional investigations into reports that the Bush administration tried to censor government scientists researching global warming at NASA and the Commerce Department are also under way.

[Last modified December 14, 2006, 01:42:43]