President Orders Science Back to the Gold Standard Era
Published Date: 5/29/2025
Presidential Document
Summary
This new order aims to fix broken trust in government science by making sure research is honest, clear, and based on real facts. It affects federal agencies that use science to make decisions, requiring them to avoid worst-case guesses and misleading info. These changes start right away and could save money by preventing bad policies based on shaky science.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Government science data must be public
Federal agencies must make public the data, analyses, conclusions, models, and, where applicable, source code for scientific information the agency reasonably assesses will have a clear and substantial effect on important public policies or important private sector decisions. The order says agencies should disclose this influential scientific information unless lawfully prohibited, and employees may not invoke FOIA exemption 5 to block disclosure without written agency-head authorization after notice to the OSTP Director.
Agencies must avoid unlikely worst-case assumptions
Agencies must be transparent about the likelihood of assumptions and scenarios and should rely on highly unlikely or overly precautionary assumptions only when required by law or otherwise pertinent to the agency's action. The order specifically directs employees not to present worst-case scenarios as likely outcomes and cites examples like RCP 8.5 and an admitted worst-case projection of whale populations.
Contractors must follow new science rules
Agency heads shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with law, require agency contractors to follow these scientific policies and rules as though they were agency employees. This means contractors working on scientific analyses or models for agencies may be required to meet the same transparency and integrity standards.
Enforcement risk models stay confidential
The order explicitly states that risk models used to guide agency enforcement actions or to select enforcement targets are not information that must be disclosed under the transparency rules. Agencies do not have to publish those particular risk models.
Protections for federal scientists' viewpoints
Agencies should encourage open exchange of ideas, provide for consideration of different or dissenting viewpoints, and protect employees from efforts to prevent or deter consideration of alternative scientific opinions. These directions apply while agencies update their scientific integrity policies.
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Key Dates
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