Leftist ideology was embedded in “scientific integrity” initiatives during the Biden administration, according to documents recently unearthed by a government watchdog group.
Protect The Public’s Trust (PPT) received documents that show how former President Joe Biden’s 2021 memorandum on “scientific integrity” was guided by a report or “framework” promoting diversity, equity inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). The memo, titled “Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking,” was to be implemented based on the 2022 “Framework for Federal Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice,” according to the documents.
The framework states that promoting DEIA is “equally important” as scientific integrity policies among researchers.
“Once again we find more evidence that the Biden administration’s commitment to science was not nearly as strong as its commitment to its politics,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Science must help us discover all the truths of the natural world. That is simply not possible when it is hemmed in by political fads.”
Biden’s 2021 memo directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to “ensure the highest level of integrity in all aspects of executive branch involvement with scientific and technological processes,” adding that “scientific findings should never be distorted or influenced by political considerations.”
PPT told the DCNF that the framework’s DEIA initiatives contradicted Biden’s directive that politics should not interfere with scientific integrity. The draft itself states it “may be shared only internally within agencies.”
“Equally important as a scientific integrity policy are policies, practices, and agency culture to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the scientific workforce and Federal workforce at large and to create safe workspaces that are free from harassment,” the documents read. “Because of existing power structures, racism, sexism, discrimination and other forms of bias in the workplace, scientific integrity and DEIA policies may intersect in many places. Similarly, scientific integrity entails greater transparency into research processes and policy-making outcomes.”
The report also includes an April 4, 2022, chart outlining potential scientific integrity metrics for federal agencies, with one of the criteria including DEIA benchmarks as a measure of success.
“Potential measurement methods [include] … evaluation of policy content for alignment with model policy/framework. For instance, whether the policy reflects DEIA as a critical component,” the documents show.
Additionally, the documents show that the Biden Subcommittee on Scientific Integrity was to “coordinate, accelerate, and advise agencies and [Executive Office of the President] components on important and emerging issues with scientific integrity implications, including but not limited to those identified in the 2022 Report such as: diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility of science; scientific engagement with underserved communities.”
While the Biden administration championed DEI initiatives, the Trump administration has emphasized “gold standard science” and returning agencies to their core missions.
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