2007-07-10 White House Is Accused of Putting Politics Over Science

2007-07-10 Gardiner Harris New York Times \Bush-Cheney administration/anti-science\politics\Henry Waxman\Richard H. Carmona\public health http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/washington/11cnd-surgeon.htm White House Is Accused of Putting Politics Over Science White House Is Accused of Putting Politics Over Science  Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional committee today that top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.

Dr. Carmona, who served as surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, said White House officials would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues because of political concerns. Top administration officials delayed for years and attempted to "water down" a landmark report on secondhand tobacco smoke, he said in sworn testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of every speech he gave, Dr. Carmona said... ... ...Representative Henry A. Waxman, the chairman of the House oversight committee, sharply criticized the Bush administration, saying it was putting politics above health issues. ... He described attending a meeting of top officials in which the subject of global warming was discussed. The other officials concluded that global warming was a liberal cause and dismissed it, he said. ... He said the science is clear that effective sexual education efforts must offer what he called a "comprehensive approach."

However, there was already a policy in place to only support sexual education efforts that discussed only abstinence, he said. complete text

&ldquo;Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional committee today that top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.&rdquo;   