Substance
Abuse Committees
The
Administration undermined its ability to obtain scientific advice
on substance abuse by using an apparent political litmus test
for appointees to an important drug abuse research committee.
In
2002, Dr. William R. Miller, a professor of psychology and psychiatry
at University of New Mexico, was invited to join the National
Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. This advisory committee guides
policy and funding on drug abuse at NIH. Before Dr. Miller could
be appointed, however, an official from Secretary Thompson’s
office called him to ask several questions. These questions included
whether he was sympathetic to faith-based initiatives, whether
he supported abortion rights, whether he supported the death
penalty for drug kingpins, and whether he had voted for President
Bush.[1]
Dr.
Miller recalled that Secretary Thompson’s aide said, “I
need to vet you to determine whether you might have any views
that would be an embarrassment to the president.” After
Dr. Miller answered that he does support needle exchange — a
public health intervention proven to save lives but opposed by
social conservatives — the aide responded, “That’s
a problem.” When asked whether he voted for Bush, Dr. Miller
said that he had not. The aide asked, “Why didn’t
you support the President?”[2]
The
aide told Dr. Miller he would determine whether his views were
acceptable. Dr. Miller was never called back, and his name was
not on the final list of appointees.[3] Informed
of what happened, Dr. Donald Kennedy, past president of Stanford
University and editor of Science, commented:
I
don’t think any administration has penetrated so deeply
into the advisory committee structure as this one, and I think
it matters . . . . If you start picking people by their ideology
instead of their scientific credentials, you are inevitably
reducing the quality of the advisory group.[4]
[1] Advisors
Put under a Microscope, Los Angeles Times (Dec. 23, 2002).
[2] UNM
Prof Says Politics Move in on Science, Albuquerque Journal
(Dec. 20, 2002).
[3] Id.
[4] Advisors
Put under a Microscope, supra note 1.
|
Scientific Committees