January 9, 2018
There was a flurry of activity among science societies when it was first reported that the Administration had banned the use of seven words in budget documents by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency’s director, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, was quick to respond that no words were banned, and others at CDC characterized the effort as an attempt to ensure approval of their budget with a Republican Congress. Last week she also sent a letter to the Senate further clarifying the CDC’s position.
As the story played out, science CEO’s discussed the need to need to weigh in as well as the opportunity to, once again, highlight the important role that science plays in government and policy making. With AAAS taking the lead, a letter was quickly developed to send to the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to “respectfully request your assistance and commitment in ensuring that the federal government utilizes science-based decision making in it policy formulations, [and] that scientific information is communicated in an accurate manner and reflected as such in government documents, reports and web-sites.”
See Full Letter: Community Statement to OMB on Science and Government
