Scientific Integrity

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring attention to an issue that should concern all Americans.

This evening, in this Special Order, we will be talking about scientific integrity. To be a problem solver today, I believe it is important for leaders to embrace scientific integrity, and we will talk about that throughout the course of the next hour.

Every day, our Nation's scientists are making vital contributions to our public health, economy, and national security.

Modern society as we know it is only possible due to Federal investments in everything from medical research and food safety to severe weather forecasting and pollution reduction. These contributions extend far beyond our own borders, lifting up people all over the world through life-changing scientific breakthroughs and innovations.

Under normal circumstances, federally funded scientists could often avoid the noise and clamor of public political debates. As the world has seen over the last 2\1/2\ weeks, the Trump administration is anything but normal.

The President and his billionaire cronies took no time at all to begin attacking our world-renowned institutions that support publicly funded science.

They are shamelessly attempting to destroy the visionary ideals of great leaders like President Franklin Roosevelt, who created the Federal Office of Scientific Research and Development during the Second World War. The creation of this office led to untold advancements in radar technology and nuclear energy, becoming a roadmap for our government to advance independent, fundamental, and necessary scientific knowledge for the benefit of all.

After the war, our government treated science as a necessary answer to clear and present threats. Today that is not the case. Federal research and development are primary targets of political attacks from this administration.

Science is no longer the answer but a direct threat to the cruel, backward, and barbaric Trump-Musk agenda. We can only look at the President's first term in office to know how his administration will treat the scientific community.

What exactly is on the table here? What is at stake? It is scientific integrity.

``Scientific integrity,'' as defined by the National Science and Technology Council, ``is the adherence to professional practices, ethical behavior, and the principles of honesty and objectivity when conducting, managing, using the results of, and communicating about science and scientific activities.''

Inclusivity, transparency, and protection from inappropriate influence are hallmarks of scientific integrity. Integrity in research is essential--essential--for maintaining scientific excellence and keeping the public's trust.

It is true that administrations from both parties may have violated scientific integrity at some point during their time in office, but the first Trump term exceeded them all with well over 150 reported attacks on science. They suppressed studies, altered reports, interfered in scientific processes, ignored concerns, refused to adopt scientifically backed guidelines, and politicized health assessments.

The level of damage from these attacks was, indeed, staggering and affected every single agency that employs science in its decisionmaking process.

That is why, as an engineer myself, I have consistently made it one of my top priorities in Congress to right the ship of America's science policy because science lives at the very core of a healthy democracy.

As part of that broad effort, I am proud to lead the bipartisan Scientific Integrity Act, which was reintroduced today alongside my dear friends and colleagues, Representative Lofgren, Representative Beyer, Representative Bonamici, and Representative Stevens, and over 100 original cosponsors.

This legislation establishes consistent scientific integrity policies across all agencies so that scientists, Members of Congress, and the American people can put their faith in Federal research findings.

Thanks to the efforts of the Biden administration, more than 28 Federal agencies have some form of scientific integrity policy today, but standards remain inconsistent.

America's most important science is conducted, reviewed, communicated to the public, and incorporated into policymaking in ways that must be transparent and free from inappropriate political, ideological, financial, and other undue influences.

My colleagues and I are fighting to ensure that sound, evidence-based policy is always readily available for policymakers and that scientists and advisers should never feel threatened to speak the truth.

This is a critical moment.

America is facing unprecedented challenges in the form of a rapidly changing climate, environmental contamination, and countless other concerns that threaten our public health, national security, and general welfare. We cannot afford to let the integrity of our scientific enterprise be demolished.

The Trump administration and Elon Musk are direct threats to U.S. scientific leadership on the global stage. My colleagues and I will highlight many of the most recent and egregious violations of scientific integrity by this new administration.

From removing data and censoring research at the CDC to the politicization of career scientists across government, this administration has once again made it clear that they do not care about scientific integrity.

They do not care about our national security or competing with China.

They do not care about saving American lives threatened by the climate crisis.

They do not care about public health or ensuring the safety and well- being of families from the threat of the deadly viruses that we have seen, like COVID-19.

The scientific knowledge we carry forward is critical for our continued survival, even as its validity is being questioned at a scale unprecedented in modern history.

America has both the skill and the structure to develop the knowledge that we need. Thankfully, many are rising to the defense of scientific integrity, and the reality is that this should not be a partisan issue.

Over the many years that I have led this bill, my colleagues across the aisle have been more than willing to join the effort. It passed out of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee back in the 116th Congress with overwhelming support from both parties.

I like to think that we all recognize how important sound science is to making any sort of progress in our great Nation. Indeed, a tremendous amount of progress was made under the last administration.

It is in the interest of all Members of this body, from every district across our country, to support scientific integrity and to support the outstanding scientific talent who come from all over the Nation and globe to do research right here in our Federal agencies or with federally funded grants or at our world-class academic institutions.

I hope that my colleagues across the aisle hear this and understand what is at stake. Decades of repair will be necessary to undo the damage that has already been done.

Don is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, but the gentleman is also an active person who is working for improvement as it relates to scientific integrity. We appreciate his sponsorship of the bill and his work to drive soundness and reflection of science in all of our policy discussions.

I thank the gentleman for joining us.

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Beyer for joining us in this fight and for his very challenging observations that he has shared. His activism on behalf of this bill and science, in general, is most appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, within the first few weeks of the Trump administration, we have seen an onslaught of attacks on scientists, on science, and evidence-based decisionmaking.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alone, we have seen public communications halted, critical datasets made inaccessible, and scientific manuscripts purged of terms deemed to invoke so-called gender ideology.

CDC researchers were instructed to remove references to or mentions of a list of forbidden terms such as: gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female.

Now, this effort to scrub scientific terms, erase demographic data, and silence researchers is not just wrong; it is dangerous.

Health disparities exist. The data proves it. Ignoring those disparities, preventing experts from studying them will not make them disappear. It will only make our response to crises weaker, less effective, and certainly less equitable.

When we can't track racial and ethnic disparities, gender, and sexual orientation in health outcomes, we lose the ability to make informed, evidence-based decisions.

Doctors and policymakers rely on clear, unaltered data to guide their work. Without it, we risk failing in the fight against public health crises like HIV, mpox, and maternal mortality.

Let me be clear: This is not just about words on a website. This is about access to lifesaving information.

It is about whether we allow science to function as it should or whether we allow political interference to dictate what truths we can or cannot acknowledge.

I urge all of my colleagues, this administration, and all who value truth in science to push back against this alarming trend.

Scientific integrity must be protected not just for our research community but for the millions of Americans whose health and well-being certainly depend on it.

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, we appreciate Mr. Foster's participation this evening and for his work as a scientist, engaging all of us in the importance of having unadulterated science policy and science research done so that we can move forward with a pure truth and science-based and evidence-based discussion.

Mr. Speaker, so scientific integrity, or the lack thereof, has its consequences.

Once again, we are witnessing a troubling pattern: Science and public health experts are being sidelined.

The decision to purge members of the EPA's Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee is nothing short of a setback for scientific integrity.

These panels exist to provide statutorily required, independent, science-driven public health reviews, not to serve as a revolving door for political agendas.

History has shown us what happens when we weaken those advisory bodies by replacing well-respected academic experts with representatives that are financially tied to regulated industries.

The last time a similar purge took place, key air quality standards were delayed and polluters were given a pass. And who suffers? Children with asthma, seniors with heart and lung disease, and communities already burdened by pollution suffer.

Let's be clear: Sound science is the foundation upon which we built public health protections.

Just last year, based on expert recommendations from the CASAC, EPA strengthened fine particle pollution standards for the first time in over a decade.

The reason was simple: The science was sound.

Fine particulate matter from sources like fossil fuel combustion and wildfires is directly linked to lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death.

The evidence demanded action and public health won, but now that progress is at risk. This move sends a dangerous message that politics matters more than science and that corporate interests carry more weight than public health.

That simply is unacceptable. The American people deserve clean air and strong environmental protections grounded in facts, not the whims of special interests.

I will not stand by while scientific integrity is undermined, expert voices are silenced, and our Nation's environmental safeguards are eroded.

I will continue fighting to ensure that science, not politics, guides our policies and that the health and well-being of our communities remain the top priority.

Bonamici), a good friend and colleague, who is a bold voice on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Congresswoman Bonamici from Oregon's First District has been preaching scientific integrity for a long while, and we appreciate her joining us this evening.

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Bonamici for joining us this evening but, more importantly, for her work on science, tech, and space as a committee member and for her leadership in fighting for scientific integrity.

Earlier, Mr. Speaker, I made mention of ongoing censorship at the Centers for Disease Control. We are seeing climate-related information targeted in other agencies, too. It is not just targeting CDC. We are seeing climate-related information disappearing from government sites, from NASA to the Department of Agriculture.

This isn't just about tweaking websites. It is a deliberate effort to erase essential data that researchers, farmers, businesses, and communities across the country rely on. We have seen this playbook before. The Trump administration is once again using the same tactics from its first term, removing climate language, pausing programs, and undermining science.

Take the USDA's Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, for example. It is a program designed to help advance sustainable practices. It has funded critical work with food companies, nonprofits, and universities to help farmers shrink their carbon footprint, develop more resilient crops, and restore land. By halting programs like this, the administration is stripping our agricultural sector of the very tools it needs to withstand worsening floods, droughts, and wildfires.

We cannot afford to turn back. We cannot allow climate denial to override science. The cost of inaction is already upon us.

In just the last few years, extreme weather has wiped out entire peach crops in Georgia, flooded farms in North Carolina, and worsened citrus greening disease in the Florida oranges crop. Wildfires in the West have devastated vineyards, while droughts have forced ranchers to shrink their herds.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and this administration to reject this dangerous retreat from science. We must defend the data, research, and progress for which we have fought because, in the case of a worsening climate crisis, denial is just not irresponsible, but it, indeed, is deadly.

Scientists knew that change was coming under the Trump administration, but few were prepared for the chaos and fear caused by a flurry of executive orders and policy shifts that have destabilized the American engine for innovation and discovery. Overnight, researchers were left questioning whether their work, funding, or even careers could survive a political assault on science itself.

This is not an abstract concern. It is an existential threat to our Nation's scientific enterprise.

Scientists should be focused on their next breakthrough, not their next paycheck. They should be in the lab, not fighting for the right to pursue knowledge free from political interference.

Instead, we see confusion, delays, and outright fear gripping our research institutions. Postdoctoral fellows are scrambling to pay their bills because their stipends have been frozen.

Research projects essential to public health, economic prosperity, and national security are being reviewed not for their scientific merit but for whether they contain words like ``diversity,'' ``women,'' or ``underrepresented.''

Our United States has long been a beacon of research excellence because we uphold principles that transcend politics. We have built a system that rewards rigorous peer-reviewed research, fosters a diverse and dynamic workforce, and keeps American innovation at the forefront globally.

Those principles are now under attack. We cannot allow political ideology to dictate which discoveries are pursued and which are silenced. We cannot allow critical research--whether on climate change, public health, or emerging technologies--to be derailed by shortsighted political mandates. We certainly cannot allow the United States to cede its leadership in science and technology to competitors that are eager to capitalize on our self-inflicted wounds.

The CHIPS and Science Act, which I was proud to support, underscores our commitment to a broad, inclusive, and merit-based research enterprise. It recognizes that diversity is not a threat to science; it is a strength. The next great discovery, the next cure, the next technological revolution could come from any lab, any researcher, any corner of this country. I truly believe the pioneer spirit is really in our DNA as a nation, but only if we let science be science.

I stand with the scientific community in calling for the protection of scientific integrity and the rejection of any effort that seeks to muzzle, manipulate, or politicize research.

We must ensure that American scientists can continue to push the boundaries of human knowledge, free from fear and with full confidence that their government stands behind them.

I ask again, Mr. Speaker, that people join us in this effort for the Scientific Integrity Act to be passed in this House, moved to the Senate, and signed into law. It is about the strength of our Nation, the future of discovery, and, again, honoring the pioneer spirit of America.

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