March 26, 2021 2:55 PM EDT
This week, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael Regan, told employees that the agency would “adhere to the highest levels of integrity” for science. The EPA also is accounting for attacks on science that occurred under the prior administration, which politicized agency decisions. Read more >
March 3, 2021 4:35 PM EDT
The Department of the Interior has announced that it will be rescinding an order put in place by the previous administration that sidelined scientific research and its use in the agency’s decisions. Scientists and decisionmakers can now once again bring the best available science to bear on decisions that affect our environment, health, and public lands. Read more >
February 4, 2021 11:40 AM EDT
Last week, the Biden administration released a presidential memorandum to begin the process of strengthening scientific integrity and evidence-based decisionmaking. This week, Congress will get its chance to play a role in bringing science back to the decisionmaking table, as Representative Paul Tonko (NY-20) reintroduces the Scientific Integrity Act. Together, the memorandum and legislation could establish the strongest protections for federal scientists and their work we have ever seen in modern history. These protections would help to ensure that science, not political ideology or industry interests, informs our nation’s policies and protects people’s safety and health. Read more >
January 30, 2021 11:40 AM EDT
Today, we released an analysis that investigated the loss or gain of scientific experts across multiple science-based federal agencies during the past four years. One thing was clear from the analysis—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a hard hit, losing 672 scientific experts between 2016 and 2020. Read more >
January 28, 2021 11:24 AM EDT
On January 7, the outgoing administration changed the legal interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act so that the Fish and Wildlife can no longer hold industries accountable for the “incidental” killing of migratory bird species. It will go into effect on February 8 unless the Biden administration takes immediate action. Read more >
