Respecting Science

Transition Plan for a Leading Nation

Respecting Science

The administration must restore confidence in our public health and scientific agencies by reinvigorating their independence from political influence, rebuilding their commitment to evidence-based policy, and restoring their role as global leaders in public health.

Allow public health agencies to do what they do best. Our public health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only work as intended when they are empowered to follow the data and make decisions based on the best available science. They must be allowed to operate in a transparent manner, free from the interference of politics.

Rescind misleading and misguided executive order on newborn care. The administration should rescind the 2020 executive order on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children. The order is not based in science and undermines shared decision making and compassionate care physicians offer to premature infants.

Remove political interference in federally funded research. Scientific expertise drives progress in biomedical research and helps the United States lead the world in biomedical innovation. It is critical that the administration preserve the integrity of the scientific process by ensuring politics remains separate from the merit-based process for funding research proposals and removing policies that substitute ideology for scientific expertise, including scientifically unsubstantiated limitations on the use of fetal tissue in research.