Sponsors (21)
The bill strengthens transparency and formal protections for federal science—helping researchers publish and improving trust in science-informed policy—but centralizes review, imposes administrative costs, and leaves some enforcement gaps that could delay publications or allow weak policies to persist.
Federal scientists, contractors, grantees, and other government researchers gain clearer protections to publish, present, and communicate research findings and to serve on advisory bodies, reducing political suppression of research.
Agencies must adopt standardized scientific-integrity policies, whistleblower procedures, and appoint independent Scientific Integrity Officers and publish policies/annual reports, increasing transparency, accountability, and trust in science used for policy decisions.
Public policy on health, environment, and national security is more likely to be informed by independent science and trustworthy research, improving decision quality.
Requiring OSTP review and approval centralizes control and could create bottlenecks or politicized review, delaying policy approval and implementation across agencies.
Permissible pre-dissemination review authority and related approval processes could be interpreted broadly, causing publication delays or de facto censorship of research.
Agencies will incur administrative costs to develop policies, hire officers, train staff, and produce reports, potentially diverting funds from programs and increasing costs for taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal research agencies to adopt OSTP-approved scientific integrity policies protecting dissemination and banning political suppression of science.
Official title: 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.
Introduced May 14, 2026 by Brian Emanuel Schatz · Last progress May 14, 2026
Requires federal agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee research to adopt enforceable scientific integrity policies approved by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The policies must protect scientists’ ability to communicate results, prohibit suppression or distortion of scientific findings for political or financial reasons, establish safeguards (including merit-based hiring, peer review, whistleblower procedures), and create a career Scientific Integrity Officer to implement and enforce those protections. Agencies have 90 days after enactment to adopt or certify policies and must submit them to OSTP for approval and publish them publicly; existing agency policies may be certified if they meet the new statutory requirements. The Act codifies rights and prohibited conduct for agency employees, contractors, grantees, and partners while preserving existing law (including copyright and other legal limits).