Presidential science adviser John Holdren is nearly a year late on delivering a plan for ensuring scientific integrity across the executive branch of the U.S. government. But Holdren says not to worry. In what appears to be a reinterpretation of what his boss requested in a March 2009 presidential memorandum, Holdren says that his tardy report will simply suggest ways to enhance policies that have already elevated the status of science in government decision-making.
In a 18 June entry headlined "Where Are We on Scientific Integrity?" on his White House blog, Holdren apologizes for missing his 9 July 2009 deadline. But he says it hasn't undermined the Administration's efforts:
All that has been awaiting the requested action by the Director of OSTP is recommendations to the President on what further instructions he might issue in augmentation of these principles in order to advance the goal of achieving the highest level of scientific integrity across the Executive Branch.
