Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today applauded the National Council for Research on Women report “Missing: Information About Women’s Lives,” which delineates the actions of Bush Administration officials to delete, bury, and alter information that directly affects women’s lives from government websites and publications.  As “Missing” spells out, such distortions and omissions have debilitating consequences for women’s health and livelihoods.

The report identifies the manipulated information as falling into four categories: accurate and science-based information on women’s health; accurate and reliable information on women’s economic status; scientific objectivity and expertise; and information to help protect and advance women’s and girl’s interests. The report includes a 2002 example in which the National Cancer Institute (NCI) website was changed to suggest, contrary to broad medical consensus, that abortion and breast cancer are related. The report also details how White House entities designed to assure that the concerns of women are addressed in policy development, such as the Office of Women’s Initiatives and Outreach in the White House and The President’s Interagency Council on Women, were disbanded by the Bush Administration.

“This report outlines a disturbing pattern of decisions by federal agencies to close down, delay, alter, or spin data about what is happening to American women and girls,” said Lee. “Science must not be sacrificed and silenced like this. I applaud the Missing report and the work of the National Council for Research on Women for shedding light on this administration’s ongoing efforts to trump science with politics and ideology.”   

“What this report shows is that there has been a systematic, determined effort to erase information from government websites and publications,” said Maloney.  “Instead of misleading Americans, the Administration should be providing them with the cold, hard facts, so that American women and girls can better understand their status and work to improve their lives.  I hope that this report will serve as a wake-up call to all Americans so that they will demand accurate data and comprehensive information from the U.S. government.”

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