House Oversight Probes Biden-Harris Administration’s Scientific Integrity Committees

On November 14, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced an investigation into the Biden-Harris Administration’s scientific integrity committees, including for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Comer cited concerns of interference of the “executive agency of future presidential administrations” through the Biden-Harris Administration’s Presidential Memorandum directing the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a Task Force on Scientific Integrity and federal agencies to produce scientific integrity reports (see previous COSSA coverage here). In letters sent to the EPA and HHS, Comer requested information on the agencies’ development of scientific integrity councils, including the criteria for selecting members and the duties and authorities of the committee, as well as the status of scientific complaints filed against each agency and all internal and external communications regarding scientific integrity. This investigation comes as the House and Senate prepare for Republican-control chambers under the Trump Administration in 2025.