Attack on panel politics

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Monday asked the Bush Administration's chief ethics officer to tighten up conflict of interest rules for members of scientific advisory bodies. CSPI's 17-page letter to Amy L. Comstock, director of the US Office of Government Ethics, was prompted by months of protest over the alleged ideological loading of committees that advise the government on science policy, said Virginia Sharpe, director of CSPI's Integrity in Science project.Twenty-one signatories of CSPI's letter include David Bellinger, a Harvard researcher who is on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel for childhood lead poisoning, and Michael Weitzman, a University of Rochester pediatrician who was dropped from the panel in favor of an appointee described by critics as "industry-supported" (Science 298:103). Comstock is attending a conference and was unable to comment on the letter, her office said Tuesday. In past statements, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson's office has defended controversial shakeouts of science advisory panels as the privilege of the party in power, and as a means of ensuring that diverse interests are represented. By invoking existing ethical laws, CSPI hopes to get action on the issue, Sharpe told The Scientist."They get to load the dice up to a point," Sharpe said. "We're not taking issue with ideological appointments. We are taking issue with conflicts of a financial nature where there are rules already in place."CSPI's letter is part of a renewed barrage from groups challenging HHS chief Thompson to halt what they view as the stacking of science panels to promote religious or commercial interests, rather than science.Lawmakers including Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) have been questioning Thompson's appointment practices since last fall. Disappointed with a lack of responsiveness from the HHS chief, Kennedy planned to make the matter the focus of special hearings in February, according to Kennedy spokesman Jim Manley. The pressure for war on Iraq, however, moved that plan to the back burner for now, Manley said.In late February, the National Academies of Science public policy committee voted to create a panel to study recruiting and appointment practices to see if changes to current policies are in order. On March 5, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued a resolution calling on the government to make sure science advisors represent a "fair balance" of viewpoints. Approved by AAAS's board of directors and its council, the resolution was based on the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires balance.CSPI's letter also invokes the FAC Act, which in addition to balance requires provisions "to assure that the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest." Thompson has yet to respond to a similar letter the group sent in December. According to CSPI, ethics chief Comstock has the power to issue government-wide ethical guidance that would cure many of the criticisms of the panel appointment process.Changes urged in the letter would force scientists who advise the government to disclose more of their financial dealings and create a presumption that financial complications should be avoided.CSPI wants agencies to reveal more about the financial ties of scientific advisors and cut back on the use of waivers that allow some people to evade conflict rules on the premise that their expertise is unique and not available from an uncompromised source."We are perfectly willing to say the administration should have discretion in creating committees that share its ideology," Sharpe said. "But it does not have discretion to undermine the independence of the scientific advisory process."

Attack on panel politics

Group demands tighter ethics rules for appointments to US scientific advisory panels.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of