The Brennan Center strongly supports the Scientific Integrity Act and urges the Senate to pass this important legislation.
In October 2019, the Brennan Center’s National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy — a group of former government officials that includes both Republicans and Democrats — published a report documenting the ways the guardrails historically protecting government research from being distorted and politicized are deteriorating.
The Scientific Integrity Act contains many provisions in line with the legislative proposals the Task Force put forward in its report. It would mandate crucial across-the-board scientific integrity standards and require agencies to have appropriate rules, procedures, and safeguards in place to ensure sound science-based policymaking. For these reasons, all eight members of the Task Force endorsed the bill in November 2019.
The Covid-19 pandemic makes plain how essential objective and broadly accessible government research and data are to a healthy society. Scientific integrity is a pillar of ethical and trustworthy government. It should not be a partisan issue. We call on Senators to support this critical legislation.