Scientific Integrity: HHS Agencies Need to Develop Procedures and Train Staff on Reporting and Addressing Political Interference
Fast Facts
Public health agencies regularly use scientific methods and evidence to inform decisions. How do they protect scientific decision-making from being interfered with for political purposes?
The policies and procedures for ensuring scientific integrity at 4 agencies we reviewed do not define political interference or describe how it should be reported and addressed.
Employees told us they observed potential political interference but they didn't report it because they:
- feared retaliation
- were unsure how to report issues
- believed agency leaders were already aware
Our 7 recommendations would help the agencies better protect scientific integrity.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The four agencies GAO reviewed do not have procedures that define political interference in scientific decision-making or describe how it should be reported and addressed. These agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The absence of specific procedures may explain why the four selected agencies did not identify any formally reported internal allegations of potential political interference in scientific decision-making from 2010 through 2021. Through semi-structured interviews and a confidential hotline, employees at CDC, FDA, and NIH told GAO they observed incidents that they perceived to be political interference but did not report them for various reasons. These reasons included fearing retaliation, being unsure how to report issues, and believing agency leaders were already aware. HHS could strengthen its desired goal of sustaining a culture of scientific integrity by developing procedures for reporting and addressing political interference in scientific decision-making. Such procedures would ensure that employees know how to report allegations, and that HHS's agencies have a clear, consistent process for investigating and addressing such allegations. To help reduce employees' fear of retaliation and encourage appropriate reporting, agencies could include information on whistleblower protections, and clarify any reporting requirements for employees who believe they observed potential political interference in scientific decision-making.
All four selected agencies—CDC, FDA, NIH, and ASPR—train staff on some scientific integrity-related topics, such as public health ethics, but only NIH includes information on political interference in scientific decision-making as part of its scientific integrity training (see figure). Training agency employees and contractors performing scientific activities would help agencies ensure that employees and contractors understand how to report allegations of political interference.
Elements of Scientific-Integrity-Related Procedures and Training at Selected HHS Agencies
aThe Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response follows HHS's Policies and Principles for Assuring Scientific Integrity .
Why GAO Did This Study
Since 2007, Congress and multiple administrations have taken actions to help ensure that federal science agencies have scientific integrity policies and procedures in place that, among other things, protect against the suppression or alteration of scientific findings for political purposes. GAO defined scientific integrity as the use of scientific evidence and data to make policy decisions that are based on established scientific methods and processes, are not inappropriately influenced by political considerations, and are shared with the public when appropriate. GAO was asked to review scientific integrity policies and procedures, and how allegations of political interference in scientific decision-making are addressed at CDC, FDA, NIH, and ASPR.
This report examines the procedures in place to address such allegations and the extent to which agencies received them. It also examines training provided by selected agencies on scientific integrity policies and procedures, including those related to political interference. GAO analyzed the agencies' scientific integrity policies, procedures, and trainings; interviewed agency officials, and employees, which includes managers and non-managers; and deployed a confidential hotline.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations to CDC, FDA, NIH, and HHS, including that they develop procedures for reporting and addressing allegations of political interference and train staff on how to report such allegations. HHS concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | The CDC Director should ensure that procedures for reporting and addressing potential political interference in scientific decision-making are developed and documented, including adding a definition of political interference. (Recommendation 1) | In October 2024, CDC issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy prohibits political interference or other inappropriate influence in the design, proposal, conduct, review, management, evaluation, communication about, and use of scientific activities and scientific information. CDC defines political interference to mean "Inappropriately shaping or interfering in the conduct, management, communication, or use of science for political advantage or such that it undermines impartiality, nonpartisanship, or professional judgment." The policy assigns several responsibilities to the agency's Scientific Integrity Officer, including (1) Serving as a neutral point of contact for... receiving scientific inquiries, concerns, or allegations of loss of scientific integrity, providing informal consultation for employees who have scientific integrity concerns; (2) Conducting an initial assessment of allegations and submitted materials following established procedures, to determine whether the allegations pertain to loss of scientific integrity, and then determines the appropriate handling of allegations, and (3) providing independent oversight of agency responses to allegations of loss of scientific integrity referred for an inquiry or investigation, including reviewing agency-submitted reports of allegations and their disposition and maintaining a status report of responses to allegations as a means of monitoring the progress toward resolution. Additional information on reporting procedures for allegations of suspected scientific integrity concerns can be found on CDC's public website.
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| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | The CDC Director should ensure that CDC employees and contractors performing scientific activities are trained on how to report allegations of political interference in scientific decision-making. (Recommendation 2) | In January 2025, HHS launched an optional department-wide scientific integrity training via the HHS Learning Portal. The training is available to all HHS employees including those at CDC. It includes three objectives: (1) understand what scientific integrity means at HHS, (2) know the culture and activities within HHS that support scientific integrity, and (3) understand how to recognize and report potential violations of scientific integrity. In particular, the training includes the definition of political interference and staff learn that anyone, including members of the public, can report concerns about scientific integrity to the CDC Scientific Integrity Official. As of March 2025,...
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| Food and Drug Administration | The FDA Commissioner should ensure that procedures for reporting and addressing potential political interference in scientific decision-making are developed and documented, including adding a definition of political interference. (Recommendation 3) |
In December 2023, FDA issued a revised scientific integrity policy. The policy includes a definition of political interference and procedures for FDA staff to report potential violations of the policy, including allegations of political interference.
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| Food and Drug Administration | The FDA Commissioner should ensure that FDA employees and contractors performing scientific activities are trained on how to report allegations of political interference in scientific decision-making. (Recommendation 4) | In January 2025, HHS launched an optional department-wide scientific integrity training via the HHS Learning Portal. The training is available to all HHS employees including those at FDA. It includes three objectives: (1) understand what scientific integrity means at HHS, (2) know the culture and activities within HHS that support scientific integrity, and (3) understand how to recognize and report potential violations of scientific integrity. In particular, the training includes the definition of political interference and notes that anyone, including members of the public, can report concerns about scientific integrity to the FDA Scientific Integrity Official. As of March 2025, 120 FDA...
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| National Institutes of Health | The NIH Director should ensure that procedures for reporting and addressing potential political interference in scientific decision-making are developed and documented, including adding a definition of political interference, and that its scientific integrity trainings on these procedures are updated. (Recommendation 5) | In September 2024, NIH issued a revised scientific integrity policy, which is available on NIH's public website. NIH's policy prohibits political interference, which it defines to mean "inappropriately shaping or interfering in the conduct, management, communication, or use of science for inappropriate partisan advantage such that it undermines impartiality, objectivity, nonpartisanship, or professional judgment." The policy specifies that the agency's Scientific integrity Officer serves as the focal point for receiving and leading the review of scientific integrity allegations related to political interference. The policy includes a clear set of procedures for addressing scientific...
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| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that procedures for reporting and addressing potential political interference in scientific decision-making are documented, including adding a definition of political interference, and that the procedures are communicated to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. (Recommendation 6) | In September 2024, HHS issued a revised departmental scientific integrity policy. The policy prohibits political interference, which HHS defines to mean "inappropriately shaping or interfering in the conduct, management, communication, or use of science for political advantage or such that it undermines impartiality, nonpartisanship, or professional judgment." The policy includes a clear set of procedures for addressing scientific integrity concerns, including for political interference. Specifically, any individual who has knowledge of a scientific integrity concern may report the issue to the HHS Scientific Integrity Officer. If an operating division or staff division within HHS has...
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| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, should ensure that ASPR employees and contractors performing scientific activities are trained on how to report allegations of political interference in scientific decision-making. (Recommendation 7) | In January 2025, HHS launched an optional department-wide scientific integrity training via the HHS Learning Portal. The training is available to all HHS employees, including those at ASPR. It includes three objectives: (1) understand what scientific integrity means at HHS, (2) know the culture and activities within HHS that support scientific integrity, and (3) understand how to recognize and report potential violations of scientific integrity. In particular, the training includes the definition of political interference and notes that anyone, including members of the public, can report concerns about scientific integrity to the HHS Scientific Integrity Official. As of March 2025, 7...
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