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Science Under Trump: Voices of Scientists across 16 Federal Agencies (2018)

Union of Concerned Scientists – Center for Science and Democracy – Promoting Scientific Integrity: “A year and a half into the Trump administration, its record on science policy is abysmal: undermining the role of science in decision-making, expanding the influence of regulated industries, excluding public voices, censoring scientists, overriding and dismissing science advice, and hindering the collection and dissemination of scientific information. UCS has documented this poor record in our 2017 report, Sidelining Science from Day Oneon our blog, and in our ongoing “Attacks on Science” web feature. But what do scientists themselves think? What does the Trump administration’s assault on federal science look like to the people who experience it every day in their workplaces? We decided to ask. In February and March 2018, in partnership with the Center for Survey Statisics and Methodology at Iowa State University, we surveyed more than 63,000 scientific experts employed by the federal government. Their responses are compiled in our report, Science Under Trump: Voices of Scientists across 16 Federal Agenciesand in several fact sheets focused on specific agencies. The results should be disturbing to anyone who believes that government science has a crucial role to play in making the United States a safer, healthier nation. Federal scientists describe a broad range of problems, including workforce cuts, censorship and self-censorship, political interference, and undue industry influence. Unsurprisingly, these problems have taken a toll on morale, making it hard for scientists to do their jobs effectively. The severity of reported problems varied widely across agencies, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Interior (DOI) faring poorly and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) doing relatively well…”

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