SINCE coming to power five years ago, President George W. Bush鈥檚 administration has come under fire for letting political ideology dictate its choice of scientific advisers, and the advice that it chooses to make public.
Now the tide may be turning, thanks to a law that makes it illegal within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to disseminate misleading scientific advice, or to question nominees to advisory panels about their political affiliation and voting history. The DHHS is responsible for such controversial issues as stem cell research and reproductive health.
鈥淚t will be illegal to question nominees to advisory panels on their political affiliation鈥�
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Most US administrations have tended to appoint advisers who share their political outlook, but under Bush the trend was widely seen as having escalated. Now, with the president鈥檚 popularity falling, Congress has flexed its muscles by introducing the new measure into a bill that approves the DHHS budget. Bush had little option but to sign it into law. Although it applies only for one year, such amendments are often repeated in later spending bills.