Sec. 2. Sense of Congress
245 words·~1 min read·
/bill/117/hr/849/ih/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— 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; the public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions; science, the scientific process, and the communication of science should be free from politics, ideology, and financial conflicts of interest; policies and procedures that ensure the integrity of the conduct and communication of publicly funded science are critical to ensuring public trust; 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;
Federal agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee research should work to prevent the suppression or distortion of the data and findings; 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 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 .