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At a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture yesterday, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) asked USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong about scientific integrity at the department and received very concerning answers about fear of retaliation among researchers.

In February, the Office of the Inspector General released the findings of a survey of USDA scientists regarding scientific integrity. Surveyed scientists listed three issues as the department’s most controversial, sensitive, and high profile—climate change, pollinator health, and anti-microbial resistance.  In a follow-up question, 99 researchers said they felt the department did not support conducting research on those same topics. 

“I think it is very concerning if even one scientist at USDA believes that their work has been altered or suppressed, that they can’t share their research with the public, and so on.  So I think we need to be diligent about this,” Pingree said to Fong. 

“You do raise a really valid point,” Fong replied. “Many of the respondents who expressed concerns also identified a concern that if they surface their issues that there would be a potential for retaliation or reprisal. And we think that issue should be addressed as well. We want to be keeping an eye on that.”

“We expect scientific research conducted by the government to be fair and that scientists are operating without any fear of retaliation if they say something they see as true or they’re not allowed to speak out on something their research shows them,” Pingree went on. “It’s deeply troubling. Particularly, the areas we’re talking about can be politically sensitive but very important to the people I and others represent and certainly to the American people in general.”

Video of the exchange is available here.