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# Sen. Nelson Introduces Bill on Scientific Integrity
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/sen-nelson-introduces-bill-on-scientific-integrity/
- Published: 2017-02-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T22:06:07.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5137966

Sen. **Bill Nelson** (D-FL) has introduced a bill that aims to protect “scientific integrity” in federal research and policymaking. The [bill](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/338?r=468&ref=fdaweb.com), which has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, seeks to protect science and its findings from political and ideological influence. It is intended to ensure that agency heads “promote and maximize the communication and open exchange of data and findings to other agencies, policymakers and the public of research conducted by a scientist employed or contracted by a federal agency.”

“Few things are more un-American than censorship, especially when it would keep the public in the dark on vital public health and safety information, such as climate change and sea level rise,” Nelson said. “Any attempt to intimidate or muzzle scientists must be stopped.”

Many government watchers are concerned about scientific integrity under the Trump Administration. “If ever there was a time that such a bill is needed, it is now,” Center for Science & Democracy research director Gretchen Goldman [says.](http://blog.ucsusa.org/gretchen-goldman/congress-is-trying-to-protect-federal-scientists-because-president-trump-isnt?ref=fdaweb.com) “The Trump administration has already revealed its disrespect for the use of science in federal decision-making. From instating sweeping gag orders on federal scientists right out of the gate, to across-the-board hiring freezes and disruptive holds on grants and contracts, early indications suggest that this administration is not likely to be a leader in championing scientific integrity in government decision-making,” she says.

Earlier this month, a group of government scientists warned president Trump that politics have no place in science, and any restrictions on scientific findings will lead to widespread leaks of information and embarrassment for the administration. A [letter](http://www.peer.org/assets/docs/sci%5Fintegrity/1%5F31%5F17%5FPEER%5Fltr%5FTrump.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility called out the Trump administration and the adverse reaction caused by the transition team’s order that it would “screen EPA and other agency science on a ‘case-by-case’ basis. It is our understanding that these words were walked back the day after they were uttered.”

  
The scientist group said “attempts to politically alter scientific results usually misfire, as amply illustrated by exposés of ham-handed efforts during the **George W. Bush** administration...Simply put, administration attempts to manipulate science to fit its official talking points will inescapably fail, automatically be leaked and subject your White House to a daily drip-drip-drip of bad, off-message news coverage. The only way to quell the quagmire of unending controversy on issue after issue is to establish strong, clear and uniform guidelines ensuring a transparent paper trail and allowing scientific information to be freely shared. Mr. President, we urge you to make lemonade out from an entire lemon orchard of scientific conflict in your path. You can do this only by championing openness as your official policy regarding science.”