I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1358 
To protect scientific integrity in Federal research and policymaking, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 2, 2017 
Mr. TONKO (for himself, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. EDDIE BER-
NICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. KILMER, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. SOTO, Ms. LEE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
SLAUGHTER, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LEWIS of 
Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. BEYER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. MENG, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. 
KEATING, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. RASKIN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CART-
WRIGHT, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. NEAL, Mr. 
PASCRELL, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico, Mr. POCAN, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. 
PERLMUTTER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 
Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. POLIS, Mr. 
SWALWELL of California, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. BROWNLEY 
of California, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CRIST, 
Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESTY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 
HUFFMAN, Mr. BERA, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. 
MEEKS, and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To protect scientific integrity in Federal research and 
policymaking, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scientific Integrity 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FEDERAL AGENCY. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the mean-
ing given the term ‘‘agency’’ in section 551(1) of title 5, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) science and the scientific process should in-
form and guide public policy decisions on a wide 
range of issues, including improvement of public 
health, protection of the environment, and protection 
of national security; 
(2) the public must be able to trust the science 
and scientific process informing public policy deci-
sions; 
(3) science, the scientific process, and the com-
munication of science should be free from politics, 
ideology, and financial conflicts of interest; and 
(4) policies and procedures that ensure the in-
tegrity of the conduct and communication of publicly 
funded science are critical to ensuring public trust. 
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SEC. 4. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. 
Except as provided in section 552(b) of title 5, 
United States Code, and consistent with privacy and clas-
sification standards, the head of each Federal agency that 
funds or conducts scientific research shall— 
(1) promote and maximize the communication 
and open exchange of data and findings to other 
agencies, policymakers, and the public of research 
conducted by a scientist or engineer employed or 
contracted by a Federal agency that funds or con-
ducts scientific research; and 
(2) prevent the suppression or distortion of the 
data and findings described in paragraph (1). 
SEC. 5. PRINCIPLES. 
Section 1009(a) of the America COMPETES Act (42 
U.S.C. 6620(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) PRINCIPLES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of the Scientific Integ-
rity Act, the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, in consultation with the head of 
each Federal agency that funds or conducts sci-
entific research, shall develop and issue an over-
arching set of principles— 
‘‘(A) to ensure the communication and 
open exchange of data and findings to other 
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agencies, policymakers, and the public of re-
search conducted by a scientist or engineer em-
ployed or contracted by a Federal agency that 
funds or conducts scientific research, while pro-
tecting privacy, confidentiality, and national se-
curity; and 
‘‘(B) to prevent the suppression or distor-
tion of the data or findings described in sub-
paragraph (A). 
‘‘(2) EXCHANGE OF DATA AND FINDINGS.—In 
order to promote the sharing of data and findings, 
as appropriate, the principles shall— 
‘‘(A) encourage the open exchange of data 
and findings of research undertaken by a sci-
entist or engineer employed or contracted by a 
Federal agency that funds or conducts scientific 
research, while protecting privacy, confiden-
tiality, and national security; and 
‘‘(B) be consistent with existing Federal 
laws, including chapter 18 of title 35, United 
States Code (commonly known as the ‘Bayh- 
Dole Act’).’’. 
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SEC. 6. SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY POLICIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1009 of the America 
COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 6620) is amended by strik-
ing subsection (b) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY POLICIES.—Not later 
than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Scientific 
Integrity Act, the head of each Federal agency that funds 
or conducts scientific research shall— 
‘‘(1) develop and enforce a scientific integrity 
policy, including procedures, regarding the release of 
data and findings to other agencies, policymakers, 
and the public of research conducted by a scientist 
or engineer employed or contracted by that Federal 
agency; and 
‘‘(2) submit the scientific integrity policy to the 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy and Congress. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—A scientific integrity policy 
under subsection (b) shall— 
‘‘(1) be consistent with the principles estab-
lished under subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) specifically address what is and what is 
not permitted or recommended under that policy, in-
cluding procedures; 
‘‘(3) be specifically designed for the Federal 
agency; 
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‘‘(4) be applied uniformly throughout the Fed-
eral agency; and 
‘‘(5) be publicly accessible and widely commu-
nicated to all employees and private contractors of 
the Federal agency. 
‘‘(d) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, each scientific in-
tegrity policy under subsection (b) shall ensure that— 
‘‘(1) scientific conclusions are not made based 
on political considerations; 
‘‘(2) the selection and retention of candidates 
for science and technology positions in the Federal 
agency are based primarily on the candidate’s exper-
tise, scientific credentials, experience, and integrity; 
‘‘(3) personnel actions regarding scientists and 
engineers are not made based on political consider-
ation or ideology; 
‘‘(4) scientists and engineers adhere to the 
highest ethical and professional standards in con-
ducting their research and disseminating their find-
ings; 
‘‘(5) the appropriate rules, procedures, and 
safeguards are in place to ensure the integrity of the 
scientific process within the Federal agency, includ-
ing procedures— 
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‘‘(A) that allow for a scientist to review 
public release of materials that cite work from 
that scientist or otherwise claim to represent 
the scientist’s scientific opinion; and 
‘‘(B) to identify, evaluate the merits of, 
and address instances in which the scientific 
process or the integrity of scientific and techno-
logical information may be compromised; 
‘‘(6) scientific or technological information con-
sidered in policy decisions is subject to well-estab-
lished scientific processes, including peer review 
where appropriate; 
‘‘(7) except as provided in section 552(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, and consistent with pri-
vacy and classification standards, each Federal 
agency makes publicly available scientific or techno-
logical findings that are considered or relied upon in 
policy decisions and regulatory proposals; 
‘‘(8) scientific and technical staff are able to 
ensure the scientific and technical content of sci-
entific documents, reports, press releases, and fact 
sheets accurately represents the relevant scientific 
data and conclusions; and 
‘‘(9) procedures, including any applicable whis-
tleblower protections, are in place as are necessary 
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to ensure the integrity of scientific and technological 
information and processes on which the Federal 
agency relies in its decisionmaking or otherwise uses. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—A scientific integrity policy shall 
apply to each employee or contractor who conducts, han-
dles, communicates, supervises, or manages federally 
funded scientific research for the Federal agency or for 
a federally funded research and development center spon-
sored by the Federal agency. 
‘‘(f) DISSEMINATION
OF
SCIENTIFIC
INTEGRITY 
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The head of each Federal 
agency that funds or conducts scientific research shall— 
‘‘(1) make the scientific integrity policy avail-
able to the public on the Federal agency’s website; 
‘‘(2) disseminate the scientific integrity policy 
to each new employee and contractor; and 
‘‘(3) develop and require training on the sci-
entific integrity policy for each employee or con-
tractor who conducts, handles, communicates, or su-
pervises scientific research for the Federal agency. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL AGENCY.—In this 
section, the term ‘Federal agency’ has the meaning given 
the term ‘agency’ in section 551(1) of title 5, United 
States Code.’’. 
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