If you remember, Secretary Kerry gave a speech. It was about 90 minutes or so long and he was lecturing Israel on everything in his mind that he believed that they were doing wrong.

You can be a neutral arbiter without sacrificing being an honest broker.

I'm concerned, too, about the Union of Concerned Scientists' survey that had 50 percent across all agencies either agreed or strongly agreed that political considerations undermine science-based policymaking.

The Scientific Integrity Act is straightforward. It outlines prohibited conduct for employees of federal agencies that conduct scientific research.

Madam Speaker, ``we the people,'' ``a more perfect Union,'' ``the common defense,'' ``general welfare,'' ``common good,'' ``these United States''--the words and phrases of our founding documents were about unity, were about us coming…

I would really encourage and ask again my Republican friends including Mr. Norman from South Carolina and Dr. Marshall and others to consider signing onto the Tonko legislation.

Every time government scientific reports are delayed, distorted, or hidden, the American people pay the price.

It ensures transparency and accountability in government, which is part of our Constitutional responsibility as the U.S. Congress.

Science doesn't serve political power, it just tries to tell us the truth.

Scientific integrity is a longstanding concern that transcends any one party or political administration.

Allowing political power or special interests to manipulate or suppress Federal science hurts and hurts all of us.

Instead of sidelining science, now is the time to invest more heavily in research and scientists.

So if there's some sort of disagreement or whatever within agencies, can agencies actually eliminate the SI office----

So it's apparent that no matter what Administration, there's a benefit that comes by tightening up and statutorily imposing the integrity overviews that these agencies.

I hope that, as a Committee, we can all work together to strengthen scientific integrity policies.

Well, I think any such bold steps would not go unnoticed by the press or this Committee, but that, in and of itself, remains very troubling.

If I might add to your comment, I recently attended the public statement opportunity at the agency for this given reason.

The people we represent here today in Congress rely on government agencies who are there to serve the public to be able to do their job to keep people safe and healthy by using the best available data.