Scientific Integrity Act
Bill: H.R.849 | Sponsor: Rep. Tonko, Paul (D-NY)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Scientific Integrity Act
This bill revises provisions regarding the release of scientific research results by federal agencies.
Each agency that funds, conducts, or oversees scientific research must (1) adopt and enforce a scientific integrity policy that includes requirements such as that scientific conclusions are not based on political considerations, and (2) submit such policy to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) for approval. Each agency must make such policy available to the public and submit such policy to Congress. Agencies and the OSTP must periodically review the policies. The Government Accountability Office shall review implementation of the policies.
Each agency shall (1) appoint a Scientific Integrity Officer, (2) establish a process for dispute resolution consistent with the scientific integrity policy, and (3) establish a specified training program for current and new employees.

To amend the America COMPETES Act to establish certain scientific 
integrity policies for Federal agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee 
              scientific research, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) science and the scientific process should help inform 
        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 decisions;
            (3) science, the scientific process, and the communication 
        of science should be free from politics, ideology, and 
        financial conflicts of interest;
            (4) policies and procedures that ensure the integrity of 
        the conduct and communication of publicly funded science are 
        critical to ensuring public trust;
            (5) a Federal agency that funds, conducts, or oversees 
        research should not suppress, alter, interfere with, or 
        otherwise impede the timely 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, 
        conducts, or oversees scientific research;
            (6) Federal agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee 
        research should work to prevent the suppression or distortion 
        of the data and findings;
            (7) under the First Amendment to the Constitution, citizens 
        of the United States have the right to ``petition the 
        government for a redress of grievances''; and
            (8) Congress has further protected those rights under 
        section 7211 of title 5, United States Code, which states, 
        ``the right of employees, individually or collectively, to 
        petition Congress or a member of Congress . . . may not be 
        interfered with or denied''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO AMERICA COMPETES ACT.

    Section 1009 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 6620) is 
amended by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(a) Scientific Integrity Policies.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of the Scientific Integrity Act, the head of each 
        covered agency shall--
                    ``(A) adopt and enforce a scientific integrity 
                policy in accordance with subsections (b) and (c); and
                    ``(B) submit such policy to the Director of the 
                Office of Science and Technology Policy for approval.
            ``(2) Publication.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
        approves the scientific integrity policy under paragraph (1), 
        the head of each covered agency shall--
                    ``(A) make such policy available to the public on 
                the website of the agency; and
                    ``(B) submit such policy to the relevant Committees 
                of Congress.
    ``(b) Requirements.--A scientific integrity policy under subsection 
(a)--
            ``(1) shall prohibit any covered individual from--
                    ``(A) engaging in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, 
                misrepresentation, coercive manipulation, or other 
                scientific or research misconduct;
                    ``(B) suppressing, altering, interfering with, 
                delaying without scientific merit, or otherwise 
                impeding the release and communication of, scientific 
                or technical findings;
                    ``(C) intimidating or coercing an individual to 
                alter or censor, attempting to intimidate or coerce an 
                individual to alter or censor, or retaliating against 
                an individual for failure to alter or censor, 
                scientific or technical findings; or
                    ``(D) implementing an institutional barrier to 
                cooperation with scientists outside the covered agency 
                and the timely communication of scientific or technical 
                findings;
            ``(2) shall allow a covered individual to--
                    ``(A) disseminate scientific or technical findings, 
                subject to existing law, by--
                            ``(i) participating in scientific 
                        conferences; and
                            ``(ii) seeking publication in online and 
                        print publications through peer-reviewed, 
                        professional, or scholarly journals;
                    ``(B) sit on scientific advisory or governing 
                boards;
                    ``(C) join or hold leadership positions on 
                scientific councils, societies, unions, and other 
                professional organizations;
                    ``(D) contribute to the academic peer-review 
                process as reviewers or editors; and
                    ``(E) participate and engage with the scientific 
                community;
            ``(3) may require a covered individual to, before 
        disseminating scientific or technical findings as described in 
        paragraph (2)(A), submit such findings to the agency for the 
        purpose of review by the agency of the data and findings for 
        technical accuracy if the scientific integrity policy outlines 
        a clear and consistent process for such review; and
            ``(4) shall require that--
                    ``(A) scientific conclusions are not made based on 
                political considerations;
                    ``(B) the selection and retention of candidates for 
                science and technology positions in the covered agency 
                are based primarily on the candidate's expertise, 
                scientific credentials, experience, and integrity;
                    ``(C) personnel actions regarding covered 
                individuals, except for political appointees, are not 
                taken on the basis of political consideration or 
                ideology;
                    ``(D) covered individuals adhere to the highest 
                ethical and professional standards in conducting their 
                research and disseminating their findings;
                    ``(E) the appropriate rules, procedures, and 
                safeguards are in place to ensure the integrity of the 
                scientific process within the covered agency;
                    ``(F) scientific or technological information 
                considered in policy decisions is subject to well-
                established scientific processes, including peer review 
                where appropriate;
                    ``(G) procedures, including procedures with respect 
                to applicable whistleblower protections, are in place 
                as are necessary to ensure the integrity of scientific 
                and technological information and processes on which 
                the covered agency relies in its decision making or 
                otherwise uses; and
                    ``(H) enforcement of such policy is consistent with 
                the processes for an administrative hearing and an 
                administrative appeal.
    ``(c) Implementation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the head of 
each covered agency shall--
            ``(1) design the scientific integrity policy to apply with 
        respect to the covered agency;
            ``(2) ensure that such policy is clear with respect to what 
        activities are permitted and what activities are not permitted;
            ``(3) ensure that there is a process for individuals not 
        employed or contracted by the agency, including grantees, 
        collaborators, partners, and volunteers, to report violations 
        of the scientific integrity policy;
            ``(4) enforce such policy uniformly throughout the covered 
        agency; and
            ``(5) make such policy available to the public, employees, 
        private contractors, and grantees of the covered agency.
    ``(d) Scientific Integrity Officer.--Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, each covered agency shall appoint a 
Scientific Integrity Officer, who shall--
            ``(1) be a career employee at the covered agency in a 
        professional position;
            ``(2) have technical knowledge and expertise in conducting 
        and overseeing scientific research;
            ``(3) direct the activities and duties described in 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g); and
            ``(4) work closely with the inspector general of the 
        covered agency, as appropriate.
    ``(e) Administrative Process and Training.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each covered 
agency shall establish--
            ``(1) an administrative process and administrative appeal 
        process for dispute resolution consistent with the scientific 
        integrity policy of the covered agency adopted under subsection 
        (a); and
            ``(2) a training program to provide--
                    ``(A) regular scientific integrity and ethics 
                training to employees and contractors of the covered 
                agency;
                    ``(B) new covered employees with training within 
                one month of commencing employment;
                    ``(C) information to ensure that covered 
                individuals are fully aware of their rights and 
                responsibilities regarding the conduct of scientific 
                research, publication of scientific research, and 
                communication with the media and the public regarding 
                scientific research; and
                    ``(D) information to ensure that covered 
                individuals are fully aware of their rights and 
                responsibilities for administrative hearings and 
                appeals established in the covered agency's scientific 
                integrity policy.
    ``(f) Reporting.--
            ``(1) Annual report.--Each year, each Scientific Integrity 
        Officer appointed by a covered agency under subsection (d) 
        shall post an annual report on the public website of the 
        covered agency that includes, for the year covered by the 
        report--
                    ``(A) the number of complaints of misconduct with 
                respect to the scientific integrity policy adopted 
                under subsection (a)--
                            ``(i) filed for administrative redress;
                            ``(ii) petitioned for administrative 
                        appeal; and
                            ``(iii) still pending from years prior to 
                        the year covered by the report, if any;
                    ``(B) an anonymized summary of each such complaint 
                and the results of each such complaint; and
                    ``(C) any changes made to the scientific integrity 
                policy.
            ``(2) Incident report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date on which an incident described in subparagraph (B) 
                occurs, the head of a covered agency shall submit a 
                report describing the incident to the Office of Science 
                and Technology Policy and the relevant Committees of 
                Congress.
                    ``(B) Incident.--An incident described under this 
                paragraph is an incident in which an individual, acting 
                outside the channels established under subsection (e), 
                overrules the decision of the Scientific Integrity 
                Officer with respect to a dispute regarding a violation 
                of the scientific integrity policy.
    ``(g) Office of Science and Technology Policy.--The Director of the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy shall--
            ``(1) collate, organize, and publicly share all information 
        it receives under subsection (g) in one place on its own 
        website; and
            ``(2) on an annual basis, convene the Scientific Integrity 
        Officer of each covered agency appointed under subsection (d) 
        to discuss best practices for implementing the requirements of 
        this section.
    ``(h) Periodic Review and Approval.--
            ``(1) Internal review.--The head of each covered agency 
        shall periodically conduct a review of the scientific integrity 
        policy and change such policy as appropriate.
            ``(2) Review by the office of science and technology 
        policy.--
                    ``(A) Review of substantial updates.--The head of 
                each covered agency shall submit to the Office of 
                Science and Technology Policy for approval any 
                substantial changes to the scientific integrity policy.
                    ``(B) Quinquennial review.--Not later than 5 years 
                after the date of the enactment of the Scientific 
                Integrity Act, and quinquennially thereafter, the head 
                of each covered agency shall submit the scientific 
                integrity policy to the Office of Science and 
                Technology Policy for review and approval.
    ``(i) Comptroller General Review.--Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of the Scientific Integrity Act, the Comptroller 
General shall conduct a review of the implementation of the scientific 
integrity policy by each covered agency.
    ``(j) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(2) Covered agency.--The term `covered agency' means an 
        agency that funds, conducts, or oversees scientific research.
            ``(3) Covered individual.--The term `covered individual' 
        means a Federal employee or contractor who--
                    ``(A) is engaged in, supervises, or manages 
                scientific activities;
                    ``(B) analyzes or publicly communicates information 
                resulting from scientific activities; or
                    ``(C) uses scientific information or analyses in 
                making bureau, office, or agency policy, management, or 
                regulatory decisions.
            ``(4) Relevant committees of congress.--The term `relevant 
        Committees of Congress' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology of the House of Representatives.''.

SEC. 4. EXISTING POLICIES; CLARIFICATION.

    (a) Existing Scientific Integrity Policies.--Notwithstanding the 
amendments made by this Act, a covered agency's scientific integrity 
policy that was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
this Act may satisfy the requirements under the amendments made by this 
Act if the head of the covered agency--
            (1) makes a written determination that the policy satisfies 
        such requirements; and
            (2) submits the written determination and the policy to the 
        Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy for 
        review and approval.
    (b) Clarification.--Nothing in this Act shall affect the 
application of United States copyright law.
    (c) Covered Agency Defined.--The term ``covered agency'' has the 
meaning given the term in section 1009 of the America COMPETES Act (42 
U.S.C. 6620).
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