In The News
Letter to the Editor: Evidence in criminal trials must be based on sound science
Unfortunately, we were not surprised by The Post’s July 30 front-page article “Review finds two decades of forensic errors by FBI.” In 2009, the National Research Council reported that a number of forensic disciplines “have yet to establish either the validity of their approach or the accuracy of their conclusions.” As The Post reported, unscientific forensic practices have been used to send people to prison and, in some cases, death row. Wrongful convictions have marred the reputation of our justice system and allowed dangerous criminals to go free.
Commerce Department’s top watchdog faces congressional probe
The top watchdog responsible for ferreting out wrongdoing at the Commerce Department is the subject of a broad congressional probe, with lawmakers from both parties alleging a pattern of behavior that “casts doubt” on his “reliability, veracity, trustworthiness, and ethical conduct.”
Democrat Assault on FIRST Bill Delays Vote by House Science Panel
Yesterday, the Democrats struck back. Knowing that they couldn’t stop the Republican majority on the U.S. House of Representatives science committee from passing legislation to alter the activities of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in ways they oppose, members of the minority party instead offered more than a dozen amendments designed to highlight what they see as the bill’s serious flaws.
The FIRST Act has two flaws that could limit future discoveries
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee is about to mark up legislation — the FIRST Act — to reauthorize a number of agencies and programs, including the National Science Foundation, charged with enabling the United States to uphold a position of world leadership in research and education... But it is marred by two issues that will limit its effectiveness in producing future discoveries and the understanding to make use of them.
What Makes Congress’s Latest Effort to Curb Science Funding So Dangerous?
Congress’s unprecedented effort to cap spending on specific scientific research projects has created a stir that has reached as high as the White House.The FIRST Act seeks greater accountability from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the way it spends its $7-billion annual budget—a reasonable goal that few have argued against. The controversy is over the less-than-scientific approach that FIRST would take to decide which projects get funded.
The Next Frontier In The War Over Science
The Obama administration and the scientific community at large are expressing serious alarm at a House Republican bill that they argue would dramatically undermine way research is conducted in America.
White House Science Adviser Criticizes FIRST Act
Pending legislation to alter the grantmaking process at the National Science Foundation (NSF) “would have an extraordinarily unfortunate effect” on the $7 billion research agency, presidential science adviser John Holdren said.
NSF's Science Board Criticizes Bill to Alter Agency's Programs
The presidentially appointed oversight body to the National Science Foundation (NSF) took the unprecedented step of publicly criticizing pending legislation that it feels would be harmful to the $7 billion research agency. The stance taken by the National Science Board (NSB), detailed in a 5-paragraph statement, escalates a yearlong battle between the scientific community and Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chair of the science committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
House Subpoena Revives Battle Over Air Pollution Studies
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have taken an old battle over the health data that underlie Clean Air Act regulations to a new level. For the fi rst time in 21 years, the House science committee has issued a subpoena, demanding confi dential data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R–TX) has said that if EPA does not oblige, he may go after the institutions that conducted the groundbreaking studies decades ago.