On October 19th, 2026, COPAFS transmitted a letter to the Commerce Department expressing concern over recent revisions to the Commerce Department’s Scientific Integrity Policy (DAO 216-23). These revisions removed language explicitly banning political interference and providing whistleblower protections. Producing objective, accurate, and relevant statistics is the hallmark of our federal statistical system and removing this language unnecessarily walks back safeguards for these data. The letter was signed by 20 organizations.
DATE: October 19, 2026
TO: Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce
RE: Request to Reconsider Specific Revisions to the Department of Commerce Scientific Integrity Policy (DAO 216-23)
Dear Secretary Lutnick,
The undersigned organizations and individuals, representing a broad coalition of scientific, statistical, and professional communities dedicated to the integrity of federal data, write to express our concern regarding recent updates to the U.S. Department of Commerce Scientific Integrity Policy (DAO 216-23). Specifically, we urge the Department to restore language:
- Prohibiting political interference or inappropriate influence in the collection, analysis and dissemination of federal data.
- Providing explicit whistle-blower protections for people who report scientific integrity concerns.
American businesses, institutions and organizations rely on objective, evidence-based data produced by the Department’s principal statistical and scientific bodies, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Eliminating unambiguous language designed to protect government science from political manipulation significantly compromises the institutional safeguards that sustain Americans’ trust and reliance upon our national data infrastructure.
Our collective concerns focus on two critical threats to federal data:
- Erosion of Public and Professional Trust: Federal economic and demographic indicators drive billions of dollars in public and private investments. By removing explicit firewalls against political pressure and inappropriate influence, the revised departmental policy would substantially undermine the credibility of the data which will be difficult to reclaim.
- Vulnerability of Career Scientists: Clear, enforceable rules against political interference and inappropriate influence provide necessary professional protection for federal researchers and statisticians, ensuring that the data products they compile and release to the public adhere to well-established and widely accepted scientific standards and have not been judgmentally altered or skewed with political considerations in mind. Removing this language leaves agency experts vulnerable to external ideological pressures and could compromise objective analysis or distort scientific communication to the American public.
We strongly urge the Department of Commerce to restore the explicit language in its scientific integrity policy prohibiting political interference or inappropriate influence and providing whistleblower protections. Our organizations stand ready to work with your office to ensure that federal statistics remain a non-partisan pillar of governance, rooted in transparency and robust scientific standards.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.