Bad Advice

Weak and inconsistent counsel on science leaves politicians and public in the dark.

The infrastructure for providing science advice to Congress and the White House is in crisis, the Federation of American Scientists has found. In a December report, "Flying Blind: The Rise, Fall and Possible Resurrection of Science Advice in the United States," the Washington-based group warned that without competent advice, the nation's leaders are likely to make unwise decisions resulting in poorly designed programs and costly mistakes.

FAS, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, points out that the recent election was filled with charges and counter- charges about the politicization of science. The report seeks common ground. "We're proposing common-sense solutions that sensible people from both parties can agree would be a step toward good government," says lead author Henry Kelly. "We expect our leaders to be debating values and priorities, but they shouldn't have to debate the facts." Kelly is president of FAS and once held senior positions in the White House Office of Science and Technology and the defunct Office of Technology Assessment on Capitol Hill.

The federation raps White House management of science and technology policy as "haphazard" and lacking in continuity between administrations. It also says the ability of Congress to draw on competent, independent advice has been "gravely compromised" since 1996, when the Office of Technology Assessment was abolished. It contends that the National Academies are not an adequate substitute.

Finally, FAS notes that although "good government depends on holding public officials accountable," in recent years it has become much more difficult for the public to obtain the information it needs to reach informed judgments about federal programs.

The authors based their criticisms on interviews with leaders in science and technology and on studies of two cases-President Bush's decision to limit federal support of research on embryonic stem cells and the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that encouraged the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether, a carcinogen and ground water pollutant as an ozone-reducing additive in gasoline.

FAS offers four key recommendations for improving the quality of science advice:

• Establish a $20 million-per-year technology assessment function within the Government Accountability Office.
• Give the president's science adviser and National Science and Technology Council authority similar to that of the national security adviser and the National Security Council.
• Give the Office of Science and Technology Policy a permanent professional staff and sufficient resources, and establish at least one advisory group with membership terms that span administrations.
• Provide better public access to government information by designing and enforcing clear rules for withholding information and ensuring that procedures for challenging restrictions are transparent and timely.