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Safeguarding Science in State Agencies
Officials too often distort research for political gain. Legislatures and agencies can push back by establishing standards for evidence-based policymaking, protections for scientists, and executive branch watchdogs.
Brennan Center for Justice | by | September 27, 2023
The Covid-19 pandemic, the biggest public health crisis in more than a century, has underscored the critical role that science plays in government efforts to protect the health and well-being of people across the United States. Research and data — about the pandemic’s severity, appropriate mitigation measures, and long-term solutions to the crisis, such as vaccination campaigns — became central to daily life in a way that many people in this country had never before experienced. Government decisions based on rapidly developing science were, in many instances, a matter of life and death.