(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, launched the Save Our Science (SOS) Political Interference Tracker, a page that details the many reports of Trump Administration officials interfering in the work of public health experts and scientists on the frontlines of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts.
“The pattern here is unmistakable and dangerous-the Trump Administration is putting politics first and putting lives in jeopardy by interfering in the work of scientists and experts who should be leading our response to this pandemic. The White House should not be trying to overrule experts at the public health agencies on the frontlines of this crisis, undermine public trust in their work, or spread false statements and wild conspiracies. Unfortunately, as this tracker shows, that’s exactly what has been happening.
“Keeping a record of this rampant interference is a necessary step, but I know this alone won’t stop it -Congress must take action. I introduced the Science and Transparency Over Politics Act to provide the accountability and transparency that has been so badly missing from this Administration’s COVID-19 response, and I’m going to keep pushing Republicans to support that bill. The growing list of alarming examples in this tracker make the case for that legislation painfully clear. It’s past time for every Republican who has claimed to support the science to prove it."
Last month, Senator Murray introduced the Science and Transparency Over Politics (STOP) Act, which would create a task force of the Pandemic Response and Accountability Committee charged with conducting a thorough investigation into any political interference with decisions made by scientific agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services in connection with the pandemic response. These reports would be released to committees of jurisdiction and could be made public, and the task force would have full discretion to release any information that it deems is in the public interest and may be important to public safety.
See the new SOS Political Interference Tracker HERE.
