Stem Cells, Women's Health, Weapons, Water, Agriculture - The List Goes On and On and On

STEM CELLS, WOMEN'S HEALTH, WEAPONS, WATER, AGRICULTURE-THE LIST GOES ON AND ON-HON. ZOE LOFGREN (Extensions of Remarks - March 24, 2004)

HON. ZOE LOFGREN OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2004

Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD the attached editorial by the San Jose Mercury News dated March 15, 2004 as an extension of my remarks earlier today.

[From the San Jose Mercury News, Mar. 15, 2004]

BUSH MANIPULATES SCIENCE DATA TO PURSUE HIS IDEOLOGICAL GOALS
STEM CELLS, WOMEN'S HEALTH, WEAPONS, WATER, AGRICULTURE-THE LIST GOES ON

The Bush administration has the manipulation of scientific data down to a science.
When it comes to imposing his ideology on the work of world-renowned scientists, the president is an equal opportunity meddler. Global warming. Stem cell research. The quality of our drinking water. Health issues (particularly those related to women's health). Nuclear weapons. Agricultural practices. Those are just a few of the areas in which Bush routinely uses politics to cater to big business or the religious right.

Congress last fall asked the General Accounting Office to investigate. If the GAO's report, due in April, confirms a similar investigation conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Congress should immediately begin holding hearings aimed at ending future presidents' ability to distort and suppress science for political gain. And the scientific community's outrage over the administration's actions should be raised when judging the presidential candidates' credibility.

Consider the array of scientists and federal officials opposed to the administration's actions. Twenty Nobel laureates. Dozens of prominent scientists who cover the political spectrum. Even a collection of federal officials who served in Republican administrations, including President Nixon's Environmental Protection Agency administrator, William Ruckelshaus. It's also significant that no prominent scientists are surfacing to defend the Bush administration.

But it's difficult to defend distortions such as the National Cancer Institute's suggestion on its Web site that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer. The Institute posted that information despite the objections of Centers for Disease Control staff. Numerous examples of suppression or distortion of scientific data are contained in the Union of Concerned Scientists' report.

Bush has been quoted as saying, "Science and technology have never been more essential to the defense of the nation and the health of our economy."

Too bad his actions don't live up to his words.

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