White House Denies Meddling with Science - April 5, 2004 Vol.5, No.7

April 5, 2004 Vol.5, No.7:

Published: 04/05/2004

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White House Denies Meddling with Science

John H. Marburger III, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a detailed rebuttal to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) that accuses the administration of manipulating scientific information for political purposes.

Marburger asserts that the accusations contained in the UCS report are “inaccurate” and that the response is an effort to correct the report’s “errors, distortions and misunderstandings.” The rebuttal attempts to refute each complaint made by UCS with a hodgepodge of detailed and footnoted responses and simple assertions and speech quotes. Marburger does acknowledge a few minor errors and mistakes but claimed that they did not stem from any lack of scientific integrity.

The UCS report, Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science, charges the White House of suppressing and distorting the scientific analyses of federal agencies support with the administration’s political positions. The report presents 22 examples of inappropriate interference with agencies’ activities that it asserts establishes a pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings.

The detailed nature of the Marburger’s response would seem to indicate that the UCS report struck a nerve within the Bush administration. Perhaps it is because a supporting letter signed by more than 60 scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates accompanied the report.

The White House reportedly sent the Marburger response to several members of Congress.